CARPENTER'S 

NEW  GEOGRAPHICAL 

READER 


168  Carpenter- 

Reader 

North  America 


the 


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This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last 
date  stamped  below 


MAY  2?  19*' > 


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Airplane    vk:\v    in    Washington,    D.  C.      Potomac    River,    Tidal   Basin, 
Washington  Monument,   Treasury,   White  House,   etc.   (pages  24,   26^ 


CARPENTER'S   NEW   GEOGRAPHICAL   READER 


NORTH   AMERICA 


BY 


FRANK  G.  CARPENTER,  Lrrr.D.,  F.R.G.S. 

AUTHOR  OF 

"AROUND  THE  WORLD  WTTH  THE  CHILDREN"  AND 
"READERS  ON  COMMERCE  AND  INDUSTRY" 


AMERICAN    BOOK    COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI  CHICAGO 

BOSTON  ATLANTA 


86338 


BOOKS  BY 
FRANK  G.   CARPENTER 

"Reading  Carpenter  is  Seeing  the  World" 

Introduction  to  (Beograpbg 

AROUND  THE  WORLD  WITH  THE  CHILDREN 

©eograpblcal  IReaoers 

NORTH  AMERICA 

SOUTH  AMERICA 

EUROPE 

ASIA 

AFRICA 

AUSTRALIA  AND  ISLANDS  OF  THE  SEA 

IReaoers  on  Commerce  an& 

HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  FED 
HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  CLOTHED 
HOW  THE  WORLD  IS  HOUSED 


COPYRIGHT,  1898,  1910,  1915,  1922,  BY 
FRANK   G.   CARPENTER 

CARP.    N.    AMER. 
E.    P.       9 


MADE  IN  U.S.A. 


1X3 


^v 


PREFACE 


FOR  more  than  twenty  years  Carpenter's  Geographical 
Readers  have  held  a  large  place  in  the  teaching  of  geog- 
raphy.   They  have  supplied  the  flesh  and  blood  necessary 
?  to  clothe  the  dry  bones  of  the  geographic  textbooks,  and 
v    have  made  the  countries  and  peoples  living  wholes  in  the 
^  minds  of  the  pupils.    In  these  books,  written  in  the  form  of 
personally  conducted  tours  over  each  continent,  the  children 
themselves  have  traveled  with  the  author  by  land  and  sea 
from  country  to  country  and  from  city  to  city  all  over  the 
globe,  visiting  the  peoples  on  their  farms  and  in  their  fac- 
tories  to  learn  how  they  live  and  work,  and  how  each  is 
Irs  associated  with  us  and  the  other  nations  in  the  industries 
*  and  trade  of  the  world. 

Carpenter's  New  Geographical  Readers,  of  which  this 
volume  on  North  America  is  one,  are  revisions  of  the  origi- 
nal books,  based  upon  tens  of  thousands  of  miles  of  new 
J  travels  and  research  in  the  countries  described.    The  books 
I  have  been  rewritten  in  the  light  of  these  travels  and  in  ac- 
N  cordance  with  the  economic,  industrial,  and  commercial 
demands  of  the  present.    They  have  all  the  features  that 
have  made  the  Carpenter  readers  so  much  loved  by  the 
children,  and  they  have  many  other  features  which  will 
increase  their  value  as  textbooks  to  be  used  in  connection 
with  any  supplementary  work  in  geography. 

The  value  of  the  changes  will  be  seen  by  an  examination 
of  the  present  volume.  The  new  "North  America"  is 
equipped  with  a  series  of  problem  and  research  questions 
and  proposed  journeys  which,  worked  out  in  connection 

3 


4  PREFACE 

with  the  distance  and  other  tables  at  the  back  of  the  book, 
will,  it  is  believed,  give  each  pupil  a  practical  grasp  of  the 
chief  cities  and  industrial  localities  of  our  continent,  as  well 
as  a  working  knowledge  of  its  resources  and  trade. 

With  the  proper  use  of  the  text  and  the  tables  at  the 
back,  any  child  should  be  able  to  tell  how  he  can  travel 
from  his  home  by  the  shortest  route  to  the  chief  ports  of 
the  other  continents,  and  give  an  approximate  idea  of  the 
distance  he  will  travel  and  how  long  he  will  be  on  the  way. 
He  should  be  able  to  trace  goods  to  and  from  the  great 
ports  of  North  America,  and  learn  the  trade  routes  of  the 
United  States  and  other  parts  of  the  world. 

Throughout  the  new  "North  America"  the  author  has 
kept  in  mind  the  importance  of  the  United  States  as  a  part 
of  our  continent.  Indeed,  the  book  might  rightly  be  en- 
titled a  United  States  Reader,  for  it  deals  chiefly  with  the 
United  States  and  with  the  other  countries  of  North  Amer- 
ica as  related  to  us.  Moreover,  it  deals  with  the  United 
States  in  the  international  place  it  has  held  since  the 
World  War,  and  the  place  it  holds  industrially  and  com- 
mercially in  the  work  of  the  world. 

In  the  new  "North  America"  the  world  relations  of  GUI 
country  are  kept  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  children. 
The  pupil  studies  the  industries  and  resources  of  his  own 
country  as  related  to  those  of  other  parts  of  the  world,  and 
the  part  that  each  has  in  the  new  world  of  today.  He  learns 
also  the  important  place  that  the  United  States  now  holds 
in  this  great  world,  and  becomes  proud  of  the  fact  that  it  is 
his  country  and  that  he  is  a  part  of  it.  The  book  bristles 
with  Americanism.  It  is  an  American  book  written  from 
the  American  standpoint  for  the  American  child,  and  it 
cannot  but  foster  and  stimulate  patriotic  Americanism  in 
the  minds  of  the  pupils. 


CONTENTS 

< 

PTEK  PAGE 

I.  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  NORTH  AMERICA     ...  13 
II.  OUR  NATIONAL  CAPITAL              .         .        .        .20 
HI.  A  VISIT  TO  THE  PRESIDENT  AND  TO  THE  HALLS  OF 

CONGRESS 28 

IV.  DEPARTMENTS     OF    THE     GOVERNMENT — STATE, 

NAVY,  AND  WAR          .....  38 

V.  DEPARTMENTS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT — TREASURY    .  41 
VI.  DEPARTMENTS    OF    THE    GOVERNMENT — JUSTICE, 

POST  OFFICE,  COMMERCE,  LABOR    ...  46 
VII.  DEPARTMENTS   OF   THE   GOVERNMENT — INTERIOR 

AND  AGRICULTURE        .....  50 

VIII.  BALTIMORE  AND  THE  OYSTER  BEDS       ...  55 

IX.  PHILADELPHIA — A  VISIT  TO  THE  MINT          .         .  61 

X.  NEW  YORK  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  WONDERS        .        .  72 

XI.  OUR  FOREIGN  COMMERCE    .         .         .         .         .81 

XII.  NEW  ENGLAND — COMMERCE  AND  MANUFACTURES  .  95 

XIII.  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS  AND  LAKES  OF  NEW  ENG- 

LAND ........     109 

XIV.  BOSTON 115 

XV.  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES — FROM  BOSTON  TO  NOR- 
FOLK BY  STEAMER         .         .         .         .         .126 

XVI.  UP  THE  JAMES  RIVER — THE  TOBACCO  INDUSTRY      .     132 
XVII.  IN  THE  LAND  OF  COTTON    .        .        .-•'•-.         .     139 

XVIII.  IN  A  GREAT  COTTON  MILL 146 

XIX.  ATLANTA,   BIRMINGHAM,  AND   CHARLESTON — THE 

TURPENTINE  INDUSTRY         .         .         .         .152 

XX.  FLORIDA 160 

XXI.  A  VISIT  TO  AN  ORANGE  GROVE    ....     166 
XXII.  ACROSS  THE  GULF  OF  MEXICO  TO  NEW  ORLEANS 

— THE  MISSISSIPPI  JETTIES   .        .        .        -171 
5 


6  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXIII.  A  VISIT  TO  A  SUGAR  PLANTATION  .        .        .179 

XXIV.  THE  SOUTHWESTERN  STATES — A  GREAT  SALT  MINE     188 
XXV.  TEXAS — WE  VISIT  THE  SULPHUR  MINES       .         .193 

XXVI.  OUR  GREAT  FIELDS  OF  PETROLEUM      .         .         .199 
XXVII.  TRAVELS  IN  THE  OIL  REGIONS — How  KEROSENE 

AND  GASOLINE  ARE  MADE     ....     204 
XXVIII.  UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI  TO  ST.  Louis         .        .         .     2  ic 
XXIX.  HARNESSING  THE  MISSISSIPPI — THE  KEOKUK  DAM, 

AND  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY  .        .        .         .220 

XXX.  IN  THE  CORN  BELT 224 

XXXI.  IN  OUR  GREAT  WHEAT  LANDS     .        .        .        .232 
XXXII.  FROM  THE  WHEAT  FARM  TO  THE  FLOUR  BARREL    .     237 

XXXIII.  THE  IRON  MINES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR  .         .        .     242 

XXXIV.  A  TRAMP  THROUGH  THE  WOODS — OUR  LUMBER 

INDUSTRY            250 

XXXV.  THE  GREAT  LAKES— OUR  MOST  IMPORTANT  WATER- 
WAY    258 

XXXVI.  OUR  CITIES  ON  THE  LAKES          .        . '       .        .  266 

XXXVH.  AT  NIAGARA  FALLS 274 

XXXVIII.  NIAGARA  IN  HARNESS 278 

XXXIX.  IN  THE  COAL  REGIONS        .        .         .  .283 

XL.  WE  VISIT  A  COAL  MINE      .....  287 
XLI.  PITTSBURGH — A  GREAT  WORKSHOP  OF  IRON  AND 

STEEL —  How  COKE  is  MADE        .         .         .  292 
XLII.  AKRON  AND  THE  RUBBER  INDUSTRY — CINCINNATI, 

LOUISVILLE,  AND  INDIANAPOLIS     .        .        .  302 

XLIH.  CHICAGO 307 

XLIV.  A  CITY  OF  ANIMALS — WE  VISIT  MILWAUKEE        .  314 
XLV.  ON  THE  ROOF  OF  OUR  CONTINENT — THE  GREAT 

WESTERN  HIGHLAND 321 

XLVI.  OUR   NATION'S    WONDERLAND — THE    NATIONAL 

PARKS 326 

XLVQ.  A  VISIT  TO  THE  YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK     .  331 

XLVIII.  A  TRIP  THROUGH  A  GOLD  MINE  ....  335 

XLLX.  A  DAY  IN  A  SILVER  MINE 341 


CONTENTS  7 

CHAPTER  PACK 

L.  A  MOUNTAIN  OF  COPPER 346 

~LI.  ACROSS  THE  WESTERN  PLATEAU    ....  350 

LII.  SALT  LAKE  CITY 355 

LIII.  IN  UNCLE  SAM'S  OASES 359 

LIV.  THE  PACIFIC  COAST  STATES — CALIFORNIA     .         .  367 

LV.  Los  ANGELES  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO         .         .         -374 

LVI.  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST — PORTLAND    .         .         .  382 

J,V-II.  PUGET  SOUND  AND  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE      ___»__     .  390 

LVIII.  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 397 

LIX.  AN  AIRPLANE  FLIGHT  THROUGH  ALASKA          .         .  403 

LX.  ESKIMOS  AND  INDIANS — A  TRIP  UP  THE  YUKON     .  411 

LXI.  BRITISH  AMERICA — GENERAL  VIEW      .         .         .  418 
LXII.  NORTHERN   CANADA — THE   FUR   LANDS — INDIANS 

AND  ESKIMOS        ......  426 

L,  LXIII.  WESTERN   AND    CENTRAL    CANADA — ACROSS    THE 

ROCKIES  AND  WHEAT  BELT  INTO  ONTARIO     .  430 
LXIV.  EASTERN     CANADA — OTTAWA,     MONTREAL,     AND 

TORONTO .  436 

LXV.  QUEBEC — THE  MARITIME  PROVINCES     .        .        .  440 

LXVI.  MEXICO — GENERAL  VIEW 445 

LXVII.  FROM  VERA  CRUZ  TO  MEXICO  CITY       .        .        .  449 

LXVIII.  THE  CAPITAL  OF  MEXICO     .....  454 

LXIX.  THE  AZTECS  AND  THE  INDIANS  OF  TODAY        .         .  459 
LXX.  WE  CLIMB  POPOCATEPETL — A   VISIT  TO  THE  OIL 

FIELDS          . 462 

LXXI.  CENTRAL  AMERICA — GENERAL  VIEW      .        .         .  467 

LXXII.  A  TRIP  THROUGH  GUATEMALA        .         .         .         .  471 
LXXIII.  THE  BANANA  INDUSTRY — FROM  PUERTO  BARRIAS 

TO  BALBOA 476 

LXXIV.  THE  PANAMA  CANAL — HOME  TO  NEW  YORK         .  481 

TABLES 491 

INDEX 503 


LIST  OF  MAPS 

PAOX 

UNITED  STATES .  10,  n 

NORTH  AMERICA 17 

MIDDLE  ATLANTIC  STATES .60 

NEW  ENGLAND  STATES         .......      96 

'SOUTH  ATLANTIC  STATES  AND  SOUTH  CENTRAL  STATES      .      124,  125 

NORTH  CENTRAL  STATES 218,  219 

PLATEAU  STATES         .        .        . 320 

PACIFIC  STATES 368 

ALASKA      ..........     404 

DOMINION  OF  CANADA 420,  421 

MEXICO .         .     444 

CENTRAL  AMERICA 468 

PANAMA  CANAL 483 


10 


30 


y  jj  F      OF 


UNITED  STATES 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


SCALE  OF  MIL 
100        200 


300         400 


Greenwich 


The  statue  of  Liberty,  in  New  York  harbor,  welcomes  the  thousands 
of  newcomers  who  enter  that  port  every  year. 

12 


NORTH   AMERICA 


I.  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


book  is  the  story  of  our  travels  through  the  North 
J.    American  continent.     Most  of  our  time  will  be  spent 
in  that  part  of  it  known  as  the  United  States,  which  we 
are  proud  to  call  our  own  country. 


We  shall  make  several  journeys  by  airplane  in  our  travels  through 
North  America. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  farmer  who  did  not  know  his 
own  farm  or  what  he  had  on  it,  or  the  manager  of  a  factory 
who  knew  nothing  of  the  machines  or  other  things  he  was 
making,  or  of  a  merchant  who  had  no  idea  of  the  goods  he 
had  to  sell  or  the  customers  who  might  come  to  buy?  I 

13 


14  NORTH  AMERICA 

venture  you  would  say  that  each  of  these  men  was  foolish, 
and  that  he  ought  to  wake  up  and  bestir  himself  to  learn  all 
about  his  property  and  how  it  should  be  managed  for  his 
own  good  and  that  of  his  neighbors. 

Now,  the  boys  and  girls  of  this  country,  together  with 
their  parents,  are  the  owners  of  the  most  valuable  farm,  the 
greatest  factory,  and  the  biggest  store  upon  earth.  Tha 
farm  produces  so  much  food  in  wheat,  oats,  corn,  and  othei' 
crops,  and  in  sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs,  that  it  is  able  to  supply 
not  only  all  that  we  need,  but  to  send  food  abroad  to  mil- 
lions of  people  of  other  lands.  It  produces  so  much  cotton 
that  it  furnishes  more  than  half  the  clothing  of  the  whole 
human  race,  and  it  has  also  a  great  part  of  all  of  the  coal, 
iron,  copper,  gold,  and  silver  on  earth.  The  factory  makes 
goods  of  many  kinds,  which  sell  for  billions  of  dollars  a 
year  and  are  shipped  all  over  the  world.  The  store  is  the 
biggest  mercantile  business  known  to  man,  a  business  which 
supplies  all  our  own  wants,  and  trades  with  every  people 
upon  the  globe.  This  farm,  this  factory,  and  this  store  be- 
long to  the  United  States,  and  we,  as  their  owners,  should 
know  all  about  them  and  the  part  they  play  in  our  lives 
and  in  the  life  and  work  of  the  world.  That  is  what  we  shall 
try  to  find  out  in  this  book. 

Before  we  start  let  us  take  a  general  view  of  the  North 
American  continent.  We  want  to  know  just  where  we  live 
on  it  and  some  things  about  the  other  countries  which  are' 
our  next-door  neighbors.  We  can  do  this  by  looking  at 
North  America  on  the  globe;  or,  better,  let  us  suppose  we 
have  taken  a  magic  car,  a  hundred  times  swifter  than  any 
airplane,  and  have  shot  through  space  up  to  the  moon. 
We  shall  suppose  we  are  standing  there  with  telescopes  so 
powerful  we  can  see  the  whole  earth  as  it  turns  slowly 
around  under  our  eyes. 


GENERAL  VIEW  15 

Where  is  North  America,  and  how  does  it  look  when 
spread  out  below  us?  We  see  first  the  oceans.  They 
sparkle  like  silver  under  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  masses 
of  dry  land  look  darker.  We  observe  that  North  America  is 
on  the  northern  half  of  the  earth.  It  is  on  that  half  of  the 
globe  that  has  the  most  land,  and  where  the  most  people 
live.  It  is  in  the  richest  and  busiest  part  of  the  earth's 
surface  and  so  bounded  by  oceans  on  the  east  and  the  west 
that  ships  can  easily  go  back  and  forth  to  trade  with  other 
parts  of  the  world. 

Now  let  us  take  a  rapid  glance  around  the  coastline  of  the 
continent.  At  the  northwest  is  Bering  Strait,  which  sepa- 
rates North  America  from  Asia.  It  is  a  thin  line  of  silvery 
water  so  narrow  that  the  Eskimos  sometimes  cross  over  in 
their  skin  boats  to  Siberia.  Starting  there  our  eyes  travel 
southward  along  the  western  shores  of  Alaska,  the  Dominion 
of  Canada,  the  United  States,  Mexico,  and  Central  America 
to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Crossing  the  Isthmus  not  far 
from  our  canal,  and  turning  to  the  north,  we  follow  the  coast 
of  Central  America  and  Mexico,  and  then  move  along  the 
United  States  to  New  England  and  on  by  the  rocky  shores 
of  Newfoundland  and  Labrador.  A  little  later  our  eyes 
turn  to  the  west  and  roam  along  the  swampy  tundras  of 
the  Arctic  coast  until  they  reach  our  starting  point  at  Bering 
Strait. 

This  coastline,  with  its  windings,  is  as  long  as  the  dis- 
tance around  the  world  at  the  equator.  It  has  many  fine 
harbors,  and  also  places  where  one  may  go  by  water  far 
into  the  land,  such  as  the  St.  Lawrence  River  and  Great 
Lakes,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  Hudson  Bay.  This  shows 
us  how  well  North  America  is  suited  for  trading  with  its 
neighbors  by  sea. 

The  view  gives  us  also  an  idea  of  the  vast  extent  of  North 


16  NORTH  AMERICA 

America.  The  continent  extends  from  near  the  North 
Pole  almost  to  the  equator,  and  therefore  lies  in  the  frigid, 
temperate,  and  torrid  zones.  It  contains  one  sixth  of  all 
the  land  upon  earth,  and  is  surpassed  in  area  only  by  Asia 
and  Africa. 

As  we  stand  upon  the  moon,  North  America  looks  to  us 
much  as  it  does  on  a  relief  map.  We  can  see  that  most  of 
it  is  made  up  of  plains  which  extend  north  and  south  be- 
tween high  plateaus  and  long  mountain  ranges,  forming  a 
great  central  valley  or  lowland.  The  green  Appalachians, 
west  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  mark  the  eastern  side  of  the 
lowland.  Far  away  to  the  west,  washed  by  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  are  the  plateaus  and  peaks  -of  the  great  Western 
Highland,  and  between  lie  the  central  plains  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Saskatchewan,  and  the  Macken- 
zie rivers.  The  plains  reach  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
Hudson  Bay  and  the  Arctic  Ocean.  They  slope  so  gently 
to  the  north  and  to  the  south  that  we  could  ride  from  one 
end  to  the  other  and  hardly  know  that  we  were  going  up  or 
down  hill.  These  plains  form  one  of  the  largest  valleys  on 
earth.  The  mountains  have  great  beds  and  veins  of  min- 
erals, and  the  valley  has  so  much  rich  soil  that  it  fills  the 
meat  and  bread  baskets  of  one  tenth  of  the  whole  human 
race. 

Let  us  now  fix  our  telescopes  more  directly  upon  our  own 
country.  There,  lying  in  the  middle  of  North  America,  is 
the  United  States.  Those  broad  lands  at  the  north  are  the 
Dominion  of  Canada.  Their  area  is  even  larger  than  the 
United  States,  but  much  of  Canada  is  so  far  north  that  it 
has  very  long,  cold  winters  and  is  hardly  habitable.  Mexico 
and  Central  America,  which  take  up  the  southern  part  of 
the  continent,  are  not  one  third  the  size  of  our  country; 
they  are  too  hot  or  too  dry  to  be  favorable  homes  for  our 


Relief  Map  of  North  America. 


i8  NORTH  AMERICA 

race.  The  United  States  is  in  the  temperate  zone,  and  it  has 
the  very  best  climate  suited  for  civilized  man. 

And  what  a  great  country  the  United  States  is !  Think  of 
it;  all  of  that  land  between  Mexico  and  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  belongs  to  us.  From  east  to  west  the  territory  is 
so  wide  that  it  takes  about  five  days  and  nights  to  cross  it 
on  a  fast  railroad  train,  and  it  would  require  several  days 
to  go  from  Mexico  through  the  Mississippi  valley  to  the 
Canadian  boundary.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  countries  of 
the  world,  and,  including  Alaska,  it  has  almost  as  much  land 
as  all  Europe. 

The  United  States  is  a  treasure  home  of  wonderful  riches. 
The  Appalachian  Mountains  have  vast  beds  of  coal,  and 
the  streams  that  flow  down  their  slopes  furnish  electric 
power  to  thousands  of  factories.  The  Western  High- 
land has  enormous  deposits  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  and 
lead,  and  as  we  travel  over  it  we  shall  see  the  miners  taking 
the  metal  out  of  the  rocks.  There  are  wild  animals  in  the 
mountains,  and  during  our  tour  we  shall  have  splendid 
hunting  and  fishing. 

Lying  between  the  Appalachians  and  the  Rockies  is  'one 
of  the  most  fertile  valleys  of  the  world.  See  those  silvery 
lines  which  wind  their  way  through  it.  They  seem  but 
threads  at  this  distance.  They  are  really  great  rivers,  which 
show  that  the  lands  through  which  they  flow  are  well 
watered  and  well  drained.  That  is  the  Mississippi  valley, 
and  the  band  of  silver  running  through  it  from  north  to 
south  is  the  Mississippi,  which,  with  the  Missouri,  is  the 
longest  river  on  earth. 

But  what  are  those  shining  white  patches  west  of  the 
Appalachians?  They  look  quite  large  as  they  lie  there 
below  us.  They  are  the  Great  Lakes,  some  of  the  biggest 
bodies  of  fresh  water  on  the  earth.  They  are  so  big  they 


GENERAL  VIEW  19 

seem  almost  like  seas,  and  when  we  travel  upon  them  we 
shall  be  often  out  of  sight  of  land.  See  how  far  inland  they 
extend  from  the  ocean.  With  the  St.  Lawrence  River  they 
form  a  navigable  waterway  right  to  the  heart  of  the  richest 
lands  of  our  continent. 

The  United  States  has  millions  of  farmhouses,  and  much 
of  the  land  is  swarming  with  people.  As  we  look  through 
,  our  telescopes  the  surface  seems  to  be  peppered  with  dark 
gray  dots,  and  covered  with  a  network  of  black  lines. 
Those  dots  are  the  cities  and  towns,  and  the  lines  are  the 
railways.  Our  country  has  several  times  as  many  miles  of 
railway  as  any  other  great  nation. 


Railroad  crossing  Great  Salt  Lake.    We  shall  make  many  journey? 

by  rail. 

The  United  States  is  one  of  the  busiest  of  all  lands.  Its 
people  number  about  one  sixteenth  of  the  whole  human 
race.  They  are  engaged  in  all  kinds  of  work,  and  we  shall 
visit  many  of  them  in  our  travels.  The  land  is  so  vast  that 


20  NORTH  AMERICA 

we  hardly  know  where  to  begin  to  explore  it.  But  there  in 
the  east  is  the  capital,  the  city  of  Washington,  and  from  that 
place  we  shall  start. 

1.  What  is  the  title  of  this  book?      From  the  table  of  contents, 
make  an  outline  of  the  travels  we  are  going  to  take.    In  what  continent 
shall  we  travel?    In  what  countries?    In  what  country  shall  we  spend 
the  most  tune?    Why? 

2.  Where  does  North  America  lie  on  the  globe?    In  what  zones? 
What  ocean  is  at  the  west?    The  east?    The  north?    What  great 
continent  is  at  the  south? 

3.  What  part  of  the  land  surface  of  the  earth  has  North  America? 
Compare  it  in  size  with  the  other  continents.     (See  page  491.)    De- 
scribe its  coastline  and  how  it  is  fitted  for  trade. 

4.  Bound  the  United  States.    What  great  bodies  of  water  lie  at 
the  north?    What  gulf  at  the  south?    What  river  system  drains  the 
central  plain?     How  does  it  compare  in   length  with  other  great 
rivers  of  the  world?    (See  page  495.) 

5.  Where  are  the  highlands?    The  great  lowlands?    What  do  we 
mean  when  we  speak  of  the  United  States  as  a  farm?    As  a  store? 
As  a  factory? 

6.  What  is  the  population  of  the  United  States?    Of  the  world? 


II.  OUR  NATIONAL  CAPITAL 

IT  seems  strange  that  our  national  capital  should  be 
so  far  away  from  the  center  of  the  United  States. 
You  might  think  it  ought  to  be  in  the  Mississippi  valley, 
somewhere  near  St.  Louis,  and  about  halfway  between  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  lies  on 
the  Potomac  River,  about  a  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth, 
and  is  thus  only  a  short  distance  from  the  Atlantic  coast. 
It  is  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains,  a 
long  way  from  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  thousands  of 
miles  from  the  lofty  plateaus  of  the  West.  The  inhabitants 


OUR  NATIONAL  CAPITOL  21 

of  Washington,  Oregon,  and  California  must  travel  five 
or  six  days  if  they  would  see  the  President;  and,  indeed, 
most  of  our  people  live  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  the 
national  capital. 

Now,  the  capital  of  a  country  is  where  the  chief  officers 
of  its  government  live,  and  the  people  who  have  business 
with  the  government  must  go  there  to  see  them.  If  it  were 
not  for  the  railroads,  this  would  be  quite  inconvenient; 
and  were  it  not  for  the  telegraph  and  telephone  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  to  govern  the  United  States  from  a  city 
so  situated. 

Why  was  the  capital  located  so  far  from  the  center  of 
the  country? 

The  story  is  connected  with  the  growth  of  our  nation. 
When  we  Americans,  by  the  Revolutionary  War,  became 
independent  of  Great  Britain,  we  were  few  in  number,  and 
most  of  the  people  lived  east  of  the  Appalachian  Mountains. 
The  lands  to  the  westward  were  held  by  wild  Indians,  deer 
and  bears  roamed  through  the  dense  forests,  we  owned  no 
land  beyond  the  Mississippi  River,  and  no  one  imagined 
that  the  United  States  would  some  day  extend  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  site  of  Washington  city  was  then  in 
almost  the  center  of  the  inhabited  country,  so  that  when 
a  location  for  the  capital  had  to  be  chosen,  this  was  thought 
the  best  place.  Congress  was  then  sitting  in  Philadelphia. 
It  was  before  the  days  of  railways,  and  President  Washington 
rode  in  a  carriage  to  the  village  of  Georgetown,  which  is 
now  a  part  of  the  capital,  and  arranged  with  the  farmers 
to  sell  their  lands  to  the  government.  Soon  after  that  the 
work  of  laying  out  the  city  began;  but  it  was  about  ten 
years  before  the  White  House  was  finished  and  a  building 
put  up  on  Capitol  Hill  in  which  Congress  could  meet  to 
make  the  laws. 

CARP.   N.    AMER. — 2 


22  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  first  President  to  live  in  Washington  was  John 
Adams.  He  came  alone  to  the  capital,  leaving  his  wife  to 
follow  him.  While  traveling  through  the  forest  from 
Baltimore  to  Washington,  she  lost  her  way,  and  rode  for 
miles  without  seeing  a  human  being. 

At  that  time  a  large  part  of  Washington  stood  in  the 
woods.  There  were  stumps  in  some  of  the  chief  streets, 
and  in  wet  weather  Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  almost  a 
river  of  mud.  The  Congressmen  and  other  officials  did 
not  like  the  new  capital.  They  nicknamed  it  the  "Wilder- 
ness City,"  the  "City  of  Miserable  Huts,"  and  the  "City 
of  Streets  without  Houses."  It  grew  steadily,  however, 
and  is  now  one  of  the  finest  cities  of  the  world. 

The  plan  of  Washington  is  an  excellent  one.  From  the 
Capitol  building  as  a  center,  the  city  is  laid  out  in  four 
sections,  in  each  of  which  the  streets  cross  one  another  at 
right  angles,  making  them  look  as  if  four  checkerboards 
had  been  joined  together.  Through  the  checkerboards, 
running  diagonally  in  all  directions,  are  wide  avenues,  and 
where  these  avenues  cut  across  the  streets  there  are  circles 
or  angular  parks.  These  little  parks  have  beds  of  flowers 
and  beautiful  trees.  Many  have  statues  of  the  great 
men  of  the  past,  and  they  form  one  of  the  chief  beauties 
of  the  city. 

Why  were  these  parks  so  placed? 

It  was  not  so  much  for  beauty  as  for  defense.  The  man 
who  planned  Washington  was  a  Frenchman,  Major  Pierre 
1'Enfant  (pyar  laN-faN) 1,  who  had  left  Paris  about  the  time 
of  the  French  Revolution,  when  the  mobs  were  destroying 
the  government.  In  laying  out  our  capital  he  had  the 
bloody  scenes  of  Paris  in  mind,  and  he  designed  a  city 
which  might  be  easily  defended.  Each  of  the  circles  con- 
1  For  key  to  diacritic  marks  see  first  page  of  index. 


OUR   NATIONAL   CAPITOL  23 

trols  several  streets,  and  a  machine  gun  placed  in  its  center 
could  be  whirled  around  and  thus  fire  shot  down  a  half 
dozen  different  streets. 

We  shall  take  an  automobile  for  our  tour  through  Wash- 
ington. The  city  has  more  than  two  hundred  miles  of 
streets  as  smooth  as  a  floor.  They  are  paved  with  asphalt, 
and  are  lined  with  shade  trees  whose  branches  often  meet 
overhead,  forming  long  arbors  of  magnificent  maples  and 
elms.  The  city  seems  to  be  in  a  forest,  with  lines  of  houses 
rising  out  of  the  trees.  Along  many  of  the  residence  streets 
are  wide  strips  of  green  lawn  which  extend  from  the  side- 
walks up  to  the  walls  of  the  houses. 

We  devote  our  first  day  to  a  run  about  the  city.  Some 
of  the  great  government  buildings  are  far  apart;  for  ex- 
ample, it  is  a  full  mile  from  the  White  House  to  the  Capitol, 
which  is  situated  on  a  hill  to  the  eastward.  We  drive  to- 
ward it  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  a  wide  thoroughfare 
running  diagonally  across  the  city  from  southeast  to  north- 
west, and  passing  the  State,  War,  and  Navy  Building,  the 
Treasury,  the  Post  Office  Department,  and  many  other 
important  structures.  We  learn  that  this  street  is  histor- 
ically one  of  the  most  famous  in  the  country.  It  is  the 
route  taken  by  each  President  of  the  United  States  when 
he  rides  to  the  White  House  from  the  Capitol  on  his 
inauguration  day.  It  was  here  also  that  our  armies  pa- 
raded after  the  Civil  War  and  the  World  War. 

Farther  on  we  come  to  the  Library  of  Congress.  It  covers 
nearly  four  acres,  and  its  golden  dome,  as  big  as  the  largest 
circus  tent,  can  be  seen  shining  in  the  sunlight  for  many 
miles  about  Washington.  Its  interior  is  of  marble  beauti- 
fully carved  and  decorated  with  paintings.  The  library  has 
the  largest  collection  of  books  in  the  Western  Hemisphere, 
and  it  is  surpassed  in  size  only  by  the  library  of  the  British 


24  NORTH  AMERICA 

Museum  in  London  and  the  National  Library  of  France 
in  Paris.  It  has  about  three  million  books  and  pamphlets, 
and  is  of  great  value  to  people  engaged  in  library  and 
research  work  of  various  kinds. 

Leaving  the  Library,  we  ride  to  the  Navy  Yard,  on  a 
branch  of  the  Potomac.  We  visit  the  foundries  where  the 
great  guns  for  our  battleships  are  made,  and  then  make 
our  way  back  to  the  White  House  through  the  Mall.  This 
park  is  filled  with  beautiful  trees,  under  the  branches  of 
which  we  ride,  passing  the  white  stone  building  of  the 
National  Museum,  and  then  on  among  the  beautiful  flower 
beds  behind  which  stand  the  offices  and  laboratories  of  the 
Agricultural  Department. 

A  little  farther  on,  we  leave  the  trees  and  enter  the 
monument  grounds,  where,  on  a  green  mound  near  the 
banks  of  the  Potomac  River,  stands  the  high  stone  shaft 
built  in  memory  of  George  Washington.  The  monument  is 
visible  from  any  part  of  the  city  or  country  for  many  miles 
around.  It  seems  to  grow  as  we  come  toward  it.  It  gets 
bigger  and  bigger,  and  as  we  walk  up  the  little  hill  on 
which  it  stands,  put  our  chins  against  its  side,  and  look 
upward,  it  appears  to  be  a  great  marble  wall  built  right  up 
into  the  sky. 

The  monument  is  made  of  blocks  of  white  marble  so 
.closely  fitted  that  we  can  hardly  see  where  one  stone  joins 
another.  It  is  fifty-five  feet  square  at  the  base,  and  its 
slope  is  so  gradual  that,  if  one  could  slice  off  the  top  where 
the  shaft  begins  to  verge  to  a  point,  a  house  with  four 
large  rooms  on  each  floor  could  be  built  there  and  its  outer 
walls  would  not  be  outside  the  monument.  There  is  an 
elevator  inside  this  huge  structure,  and  as  we  ride  to  the 
top  our  guide  tells  us  it  is  more  than  five  hundred  and 
fifty-five  feet  in  height. 


Reading  room  in  the  Library  of  Congress.     It  is  open  to  the 
public  and  has  space  for  1000  readers. 


26  NORTH  AMERICA 

As  we  stand  here  high  up  over  the  city  and  look  toward 
the  west,  we  are  facing  the  beautiful  white  marble  memorial 
building  erected  in  honor  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  is 
nearly  a  mile  away  on  another  mound  in  Potomac  Park. 
Looking  to  the  east,  we  see  the  Capitol.  It  is  in  a  direct 
line  with  the  Lincoln  Memorial  and  also  with  Arlington 
Cemetery  in  Virginia,  which  we  can  see  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Potomac  River.  In  that  cemetery  are  the  graves 
of  thousands  of  soldiers  who  died  in  the  Civil  War. 

Turning  from  the  west  to  the  north,  we  see  some  of 
our  chief  government  buildings.  Almost  at  our  feet  lie 
the  huge  concrete  structures  built  during  the  World  War 
for  the  Army  and  Navy  departments,  and  farther  north, 
rising  out  of  the  houses,  is  the  white  stone  building  of  the 
Department  of  the  Interior,  so  large  that  it  has  two  miles 
of  corridors  inside  its  walls.  A  little  farther  east  is  the 
State  Department  building,  another  huge  structure. 
Almost  adjoining  it  is  the  White  House,  where  our  Presi- 
dent lives,  and  across  the  way  is  the  somber  gray  tomb- 
like  Treasury.  (See  Frontispiece.) 

We  look  at  our  watches  and  find  that  it  is  too  late  to  do 
much  more  to-day.  It  is  now  almost  half  past  four  o'clock, 
and  the  government  offices  are  ready  to  close.  We  drop 
down  to  the  ground  and  walk  across  the  park  to  the  Treas- 
ury, where  a  great  crowd  of  men  and  women  are  pour- 
ing forth  from  the  doors.  At  the  same  time  the  War  and 
Navy  and  other  departments  are  dismissing  their  employees, 
and  the  streets  are  swarming  with  men  and  women  clerks 
on  their  way  home  from  work. 

We  find  that  it  takes  several  hundred  thousand  people 
to  do  the  public  work  of  the  United  States,  and  that  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  are  required  to  keep  the  books 
and  carry  on  the  national  business  at  Washington. 


Gigantic  statue  of  Lincoln  in  the  central  hall  of  the  Lincoln  Memo- 
rial.    It  is  30  feet  high  and  contains  175  tons  of  white  marble.     It 
is  the  work  of  Daniel  C.  French. 


27 


28  NORTH  AMERICA 

III.  A  VISIT  TO  THE  PRESIDENT  AND  TO  THE 
HALLS  OF  CONGRESS 

OUR  first  trip  to-day  shall  be  to  the  White  House. 
We  are  to  meet  the  President,  and  after  that  we 
shall  go  to  the  Capitol  and  see  something  of  Congress  and 
the  Supreme  Court. 

Our  government  is  composed  of  three  branches:  the 
legislative  branch,  or  Congress,  which  makes  the  laws; 
the  executive  branch,  consisting  of  the  President  and  his 
officials,  which  carries  out  the  laws;  and  the  judicial  branch, 
or  the  courts,  which  in  cases  of  dispute  tells  what  the 
laws  mean.  The  President  might  be  called,  in  fact,  the 
business  manager  of  the  United  States.  He  is  elected 
for  a  term  of  four  years. 

We  stroll  up  past  the  Treasury,  and  soon  come  to  the 
White  House  grounds.  The  gates  are  wide  open,  and 
we  walk  undisturbed  along  the  roadway  which  leads  to 
the  lofty  porch  before  the  front  door. 

Here  we  stop  to  take  a  good  look  at  the  White  House. 
It  is  made  of  sandstone,  but  is  so  painted  that  it  seems 
like  a  marble  palace  shining  out  of  the  big  trees  which 
surround  it.  A  lawn  of  velvety  green  lies  between  it  and 
the  sidewalk,  and  on  our  way  in  we  pass  a  fountain  which 
sends  thousands  of  silvery  drops  high  into  the  air.  The 
doors  before  us  are  of  plate  glass  set  in  brass  frames.  A 
little  farther  in  are  other  doors  of  polished  mahogany 
which  have  brass  knobs  decorated  with  stars. 

Now  the  doors  have  opened  and  a  messenger  invites 
us  to  enter.  We  take  a  few  steps  and  are  in  the  Execu- 
tive Mansion,  the  home  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  where  all  our  Presidents  have  lived  since  the  year 
1800. 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  PRESIDENT  29 

The  Executive  Mansion  was  the  first  public  building 
erected  at  our  national  capital.  George  Washington 
selected  the  site,  and  was  present  when  the  cornerstone 
was  laid.  He  lived  to  see  the  building  completed,  and  it 
is  said  he  walked  through  it  only  a  few  days  before  his 
death  in  1799.  His  successor,  John  Adams,  was  the  first 
President  to  occupy  the  Executive  Mansion.  During 
the  War  of  1812  the  British  captured  the  city  and  set  fire 
to  the  building.  Much  of  the  woodwork  was  burned,  and 
the  stone  walls  were  blackened.  When  this  building  was 
repaired,  the  walls  were  painted  white,  and  from  that  came 
the  name  "the  White  House,"  by  which  it  is  commonly 
known  to  this  day,  although  its  usual  official  title  is  the 
Executive  Mansion. 

The  first  room  we  see  shows  us  the  size  of  the  building. 
It  is  called  the  Vestibule,  but  is  four  times  as  big  as  the 
ordinary  parlor.  It  has  a  high  ceiling  upheld  at  the  back 
by  white  pillars,  beyond  which  is  the  corridor  leading  to 
the  reception  rooms. 

Turning  to  the  left  through  this  hall,  we  enter  the  East 
Room,  which  takes  up  the  whole  east  side  of  the  White 
House.  Its  ceiling  is  about  twice  as  high  as  that  of  our 
schoolroom.  The  floor  is  of  wood,  beautifully  finished, 
and  so  brightly  polished  that  it  shines  like  a  mirror. 

The  walls  of  the  East  Room  are  decorated  in  white, 
and  from  its  ceiling  hang  chandeliers,  upon  which  are 
thousands  of  pieces  of  cut  glass.  In  the  walls  are  set  four 
huge  mirrors,  each  as  big. as  the  largest  store  window,  in 
which,  when  the  chandeliers  are  lighted  for  the  President's 
evening  parties,  the  glass  pendants  shine  like  diamonds. 
At  such  times  there  are  often  great  banks  of  cut  flowers 
below  the  mirrors,  and  flowers  and  ferns  are  wreathed 
throughout  every  part  of  the  room.  There  are  palm  trees 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  PRESIDENT  31 

and  tropical  plants  in  the  corners  and  in  the  windows;  the 
parlor  is  filled  with  gayly  dressed  people,  and  the  whole 
makes  one  think  of  fairyland. 

At  the  end  of  the  East  Room  we  turn  to  the  right  and 
enter  the  Green  Room,  a  parlor  furnished  in  green  and 
silver,  and  from  there  go  into  the  famous  Blue  Room, 
where  the  President  stands  with  his  wife  and  shakes  hands 
with  those  who  come  to  his  evening  receptions.  The  Blue 
Room  is  oval  in  shape.  Its  furniture  is  of  wood  decorated 
with  gold  leaf,  and  cushioned  with  blue  satin  fine  enough 
for  the  dress  of  a  queen. 

Farther  on  is  the  Red  Room,  the  walls  of  which  are 
decorated  with  red  silk  velvet,  and  beyond  it  is  the  state 
dining  room,  where  the  President  gives  his  dinners  to  the 
highest  officials  and  other  people  of  note.  This  room  is 
paneled  with  oak,  beautifully  carved.  The  mounted  heads 
of  moose,  buffalo,  and  bear,  and  others  of  the  big  game  of 
America,  look  down  upon  us,  and  we  are  told  that  the 
animals  which  once  wore  the  heads  were  shot  by  Theodore 
Roosevelt. 

We  are  in  the  state  dining  room  when  a  messenger  tells 
us  the  President  has  consented  to  see  us.  His  offices  are 
at  the  western  end  of  the  grounds,  connected  by  a  passage- 
way with  the  main  body  of  the  White  House.  We  go  with 
the  messenger,  and  a  moment  later  are  standing  in  the 
presence  of  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  United  States. 
He  rises  and  offers  his  hand,  and  we  are  somewhat  surprised 
to  find  that  he  is  not  very  different  from  many  men  we 
have  known.  He  treats  us  kindly,  and  chats  with  us  for 
a  few  moments  about  himself  and  his  work. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  has  a  great  deal  to 
do.  He  has  a  great  number  of  officials  under  him,  both 
here  and  in  all  parts  of  the  country;  and  he  is  kept  busy 


THE  HALLS  OF   CONGRESS  33 

from  daylight  to  dark  directing  the  affairs  of  the  govern- 
ment. As  we  wait  we  hear  the  click,  click,  click  of  tele- 
graph instruments,  and  are  told  that  operators  are  kept 
in  the  White  House  to  send  out  the  President's  orders  to 
all  parts  of  the  United  States,  while  across  the  Potomac 
are  three  tall  steel  towers  from  which  his  messages  are 
sometimes  sent  by  wireless  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Later  on  we  are  shown  the  Cabinet  Room,  where,  once  a 
week  or  oftener,  the  President  advises  with  the  men  who 
have  charge  of  the  different  departments  of  the  govern- 
ment. Here  he  counsels  with  them  as  to  their  business, 
and  as  to  other  affairs  affecting  the  welfare  of  the  nation. 

We  have  now  left  the  White  House,  and  have  made 
our  way  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  the  National  Capitol. 
What  a  beautiful  building  it  is!  As  we  look  up  at  it  from 
the  edge  of  the  park  which  surrounds  it,  it  appears  like 
a  huge  marble  palace  with  an  enormous  white  dome  float- 
ing, as  it  were,  in  the  blue  sky.  As  we  come  nearer,  the 
building  seems  to  grow  larger  and  larger,  and  we  believe 
the  guide  when  he  tells  us  it  is  not  only  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  buildings,  but  also  the  largest  of  its  kind  ever 
erected.  It  covers  three  and  one  half  acres  of  ground,  and 
it  has  so  many  rooms  that  there  are  parts  of  it  in  which 
we  might  get  lost  and  wander  about  a  long  time  without 
rinding  our  way  out. 

Entering  the  Capitol,  we  pass  through  halls  swarming 
with  people.  It  is  a  city  in  itself,  the  chief  business  of 
which  is  to  make  laws  for  our  nation.  The  two  great 
lawmaking  bodies  are  at  opposite  ends  of  the  building. 
In  the  south  wing  is  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  in  the  north  the  chamber  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  while  a  wide  corridor  runs  through  the  building 
from  the  one  to  the  other. 


34  NORTH  AMERICA 

We  enter  at  the  House  side,  and,  pushing  our  way 
through  the  crowd,  soon  find  ourselves  in  the  gallery  of 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  floor  below  us  is  so 
large  that  it  could  be  divided  into  twenty-eight  parlors, 
each  sixteen  feet  square.  The  galleries  are  high  above  it, 
near  the  ceiling;  they  slope  down  to  the  edge  of  the  cen-. 
tral  pit  where  the  representatives  sit. 

As  we  sit  in  the  galleries,  we  can  look  down  into  this  pit 
upon  our  congressmen  at  work.  Each  representative  has 
his  own  chair,  the  seats  running  around  the  room  in  the 
shape  of  a  half-moon  about  a  high  platform  at  one  side  of 
the  hall.  Upon  the  platform  is  a  marble  pulpit,  with  the 
American  eagle  above  it.  That  pulpit  is  the  Speaker's 
desk,  and  the  man  who  sits  behind  it  is  the  Speaker  of  the 
House,  who  keeps  order  and  says  what  shall  be  done.  He 
has  an  ivory-headed  mallet  with  which  he  pounds  on  his 
desk  to  make  members  stop  their  conversation  during  the 
speaking. 

But  who  are  those  boys  with  the  bright  silver  badges 
about  the  size  of  a  half  dollar  on  their  coats,  running  to  and 
fro  with  letters  and  papers  in  their  hands?  They  are  not 
much  older  than  we  are,  but  they  seem  busier  than  any  one 
else  in  the  hall.  Those  are  the  pages,  who  run  errands  for 
the  congressmen.  When  a  congressman  wants  a  page,  he 
claps  his  hands,  and  the  boy  runs  to  him  from  his  seat  on 
the  steps  of  the  Speaker's  platform  to  get  his  orders.  Other 
pages  do  the  same  work  in  the  Senate. 

We  ask  as  to  the  duties  of  the  representatives  in  Con- 
gress. In  connection  with  the  senators,  they  make  the 
laws  to  govern  our  country.  A  proposed  act  becomes  a 
law  when  it  has  been  voted  for  by  a  majority  of  the  Senate 
and  by  a  majority  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
has  been  approved  by  the  President. 


PL, 


36  NORTH  AMERICA 

And  how  do  these  men  become  Congressmen? 

The  people  of  the  United  States  choose  the  senators  and 
representatives.  The  states  are  divided  into  congressional 
districts,  each  containing  about  the  same  number  of  people. 
Every  district  has  the  right  to  one  representative  in  Con- 
gress, and  its  voters  choose  who  he  shall  be.  He  is  supposed 
to  act  for  them.  The  senators  represent  the  states  rather 
than  individual  districts.  There  are  only  two  from  each 
state,  Nevada  having  just  as  many  as  New  York,  which 
has  more  than  one  hundred  times  as  many  people. 

The  representatives  are  elected  for  only  two  years,  while 
the  senators  are  chosen  for  six.  The  representatives  elect 
their  own  Speaker  or  presiding  officer,  but  the  Vice  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  is  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
Senate. 

It  is  in  the  halls  of  Congress  that  legislation  is  enacted, 
and  that  the  speaking  upon  public  measures  is  done.  Most 
of  the  work  of  the  Congressmen,  however,  is  carried  on 
outside  the  Capitol  in  the  two  great  marble  structures 
near  by,  known  as  the  Senate  Office  Building  and  the  House 
Office  Building.  Here  the  senators  and  representatives 
have  their  offices,  where  they  write  letters  and  prepare  the 
bills  and  other  measures  which  are  discussed  in  the  Capitol. 
About  fifty  thousand  bills  are  introduced  into  Congress  in 
one  year,  and  those  which  become  laws  must  be  carefully 
worded,  as  the  use  of  a  wrong  word  or  even  the  misplacing 
of  a  comma  or  period  might  affect  appropriations  calling 
for.  a  million  dollars  or  more.  The  two  office  buildings  and 
the  Capitol  together  contain  about  fourteen  hundred 
rooms  and  forty  elevators. 

Let  us  now  leave  Congress  and  take  a  look  at  the  Supreme 
Court.  We  push  our  way  through  the  crowd  about  the 
doors  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  pass  on  into  a 


THE  SUPREME  COURT  37 

hall  filled  with  the  marble  statues  of  some  of  the  great 
men  of  our  history. 

We  go  through  the  rotunda,  or  circular  room  under  the 
dome,  and  then  on  into  the  passageway  which  leads  to  the 
Senate  Chamber. 

Here  we  are  stopped  by  a  messenger  while  a  curious  pro- 
cession crosses  the  hall.  It  consists  of  nine  men  in  long 
gowns  of  black  silk.  How  dignified  they  seem,  and  how 
quiet  every  one  is  as  they  go  by!  Those  are  the  Supreme 
Court  justices.  They  are  the  heads  of  the  judicial  branch 
of  our  government,  and  are  on  their  way  to  the  courtroom. 

Now  they  have  passed,  and  we  can  go  into  the  same 
room,  though  by  another  door.  We  enter  just  in  time  to 
hear  the  marshal  of  the  court  cry  out: — 

"Oyez!  Oyez!  Oyez!  All  persons  having  business 
before  the  honorable  Supreme  Court  are  admonished  to 
draw  near  and  give  their  attention.  The  court  is  now 
sitting.  God  save  the  United  States  and  this  honorable 
court!" 

He  sings  this  out  in  loud  tones,  running  the  words  to- 
gether into  one  sentence,  and  saying  them  all  in  a  breath. 

As  he  does  so  the  justices  are  seating  themselves  behind 
a  long  mahogany  table  on  a  platform  at  the  back  of  the 
room,  their  armchairs  resting  against  columns  of  black  - 
and-gray  marble.  The  chief  justice  is  in  the  center.  His 
chair  is  under  a  purple  canopy,  out  of  which  a  golden 
American  eagle  looks  down  with  keen  eyes,  holding  in  its 
beak  a  strip  of  metal  upon  which  are  painted  the  words, 
"In  God  we  trust." 

The  lawyers  and  others  who  have  business  before  the 
Supreme  Court  are  seated  in  a  little  inclosure  below  the 
bench.  Back  of  them,  against  the  wall,  are  the  visitors, 
including  ourselves. 

CARP.    N.    AMER.— 3  _       _     Q    <  .     ., 

o  u  o  6  o 


38  NORTH  AMERICA 

It  is  usually  quiet  in  the  Supreme  Court,  for  this  is  a 
very  dignified  branch  of  our  government.  It  is  so  quiet 
to-day,  in  fact,  that  we  feel  like  going  to  sleep  after  our 
hard  day's  sightseeing.  We  are  frightened  as  we  catch 
ourselves  nodding;  and  we  rise,  slip  gently  out,  and  make 
our  way  back  to  our  hotel. 

1.  Locate  our  national  capital  and  tell  why  it  was  placed  where 
it  is. 

2.  How  far  do  you  live  from  Washington?     How  could  you  go 
there  by  train?    On  what  railways?    How  long  would  you  be  on  the 
way?   At  a  mile  a  minute  by  airplane,  how  long  would  it  take?    Over 
what  ranges  of  mountains,  if  any,  would  you  pass?    Through  what 
states?   Through  what  large  cities?    Bring  a  railway  map  to  the  class 
and  show  the  route. 

3.  Have  you  ever  visited  Washington  before  this?    Do  you  know 
any  one  who  has? 

4.  Describe  your  automobile  trip  through  the  capital.    How  was 
the  city  first  planned,  and  why?     What  two  great  monuments  do 
we  see?    Tell  the  story  of  each  of  the  Presidents  to  whom  they  are 
erected. 

5.  What  are  the  three  principal  branches  of  the  government?   What 
is  the  chief  duty  of  each? 

6.  What  is  the  White  House?    Describe  your  call  upon  the  Pres- 
ident.   What  is  the  Cabinet? 

7.  Describe  your  trip  through  the  Capitol.    What  is  the  difference 
between  the  House  and  the  Senate?    Who  are  your  senators?    Who  is 
your  congressman?    Tell  about  our  visit  to  the  Supreme  Court. 


'IV.  DEPARTMENTS    OF     THE     GOVERNMENT- 
STATE,  NAVY,  AND  WAR 

HPHIS  morning  we  shall  visit  some  of  the  department 

-L    buildings  to  find  out,  if  we  can,  how  the  important 

business  of  our  government  is  carried  on.    We  shall  pay  our 

first  call  upon  the  Secretary  of  State.    He  is  considered  the 


THE  STATE  DEPARTMENT  39 

most  important  member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  if  a  time 
should  ever  come  when  the  President  and  Vice  President 
should  both  die,  the  Secretary  of  State  would  become 
President. 

The  State  Department  has  charge  of  all  the  business 
between  the  United  States  and  foreign  nations.  Each  of 
the  important  foreign  countries  has  its  representative  at 
Washington,  and  our  President  appoints  ambassadors  and 
ministers  to  represent  the  United  States  at  foreign  capitals, 
and  consuls  or  business  agents  in  every  great  trading 
center  abroad.  The  Secretary  of  State  confers  with  the 
foreign  ministers,  and  he  advises  with  the  President  as  to 
treaties  and  all  foreign  business.  He  also  issues  passports 
to  Americans  who  wish  to  travel  through  other  lands  on 
business  or  pleasure.  Each  passport  bears  a  photograph 
and  description  of  its  owner.  It  shows  that  he  is  an  Amer- 
ican citizen,  and  asks  that  the  people  of  the  countries 
through  which  he  wishes  to  go  treat  him  as  such  and  allow 
him  to  pass  safely  and  freely. 

The  Secretary  of  State  has  charge  of  our  treaties  or 
contracts  with  all  foreign  nations,  and  also  of  other  impor- 
tant state  papers.  The  original  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, and  the  little  desk  upon  which  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son wrote  it,  were  kept  here  for  many  years,  but  were  then 
removed  to  the  Library  of  Congress. 

Leaving  the  State  Department,  we  stroll  down  past  the 
Cor'coran  Gallery  of  Art,  the  building  devoted  to  the 
American  Red  Cross,  and  the  white  marble  palace  of  the 
Pan-American  Union,  to  the  offices  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment. We  know  that  we  are  in  the  Department  of  the 
Navy  as  soon  as  we  enter  the  building.  There  are  models 
of  war  vessels  in  the  halls,  and  in  some  of  the  rooms  we  see 
photographs  of  dreadnaughts,  cruisers,  torpedo  boats,  sub- 


NORTH  AMERICA 


marine  chasers,  and  all  the  other  kinds  of  warships  in  our 
navy. 

Here,  for  instance,  is  a  model  of  one  of  our  great  battle- 
ships. It  is  so  small  that  it  could  be  put  in  one  side  of  a 
schoolroom,  but  the  ship  it  represents  is  as  long  as  a  city 
block  and  so  wide  that  it  would  fill  an  ordinary  street.  The 
ship  cost  more  than  twenty  million  dollars  and  required 


The  Tennessee,  one  of  the  navy's  largest  battleships. 

more  than  two  years  to  build.  It  is  made  altogether  of 
steel  and  its  outside  is  covered  with  steel  plates  several 
inches  thick,  in  order  that  the  shells  fired  at  it  may  not  go 
through. 

The  guns  of  the  battleship  are  of  many  kinds.  It  has 
some  so  tig  that  it  takes  two  bushels  of  powder  to  fire  one 
of  them  and  so  powerful  that  they  will  shoot  shells  of  solid 
steel  twelve  miles  or  more.  These  shells  are  as  tall  as  we 
are  and  weigh  more  than  seven  full  grown  men.  The  ship 


THE   TREASURY   DEPARTMENT  41 

has  anti-aircraft  guns  to  defend  itself  from  the  war  planes 
of  an  enemy,  and  guns  which  fire  depth  bombs  to  destroy 
submarines  as  they  lie  in  wait  far  down  under  the  surface 
of  the  water.  These  things  show  us  how  terrible  war  is 
and  how  all  nations  should  strive  together  for  peace  in 
the  world. 

We  feel  this  the  more  during  our  visit  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment, which  has  to  do  with  the  army.  Uncle  Sam  must 
have  his  soldiers  upon  land  to  defend  us,  as  wall  as  his  ships 
upon  the  sea;  and  in  time  of  war  it  has  been  necessary  to 
call  out  millions  of  the  young  men  of  our  nation  to  fight  for 
our  rights  and  for  the  good  and  peace  of  the  world.  In  the 
World  War  we  had  at  one  time  nearly  four  million  men 
under  arms,  over  half  of  whom  were  in  France,  having 
been  safely  transported  there  under  the  protection  of  the 
American  and  British  navies.  In  times  of  peace  less  than 
two  hundred  thousand  troops  are  required  to  protect  our 
country  with  its  millions  of  people. 


V.  DEPARTMENTS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT- 
TREASURY 


OING  back  to  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  we  visit  the 
V_J  Treasury  Department,  which  has  to  do  with  the 
money  of  the  government.  Enormous  sums  are  needed  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  army  and  navy,  to  carry  the  mails, 
and  to  perform  other  kinds  of  work  done  by  the  national 
government.  Nearly  all  of  this  money  comes  from  taxes 
of  various  kinds.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Treasury  De- 
partment to  collect  this  money  and  to  see  that  none  of  it 
#oes  out  except  as  the  laws  of  Congress  direct.  The 


42  NORTH  AMERICA 

Treasury  Department  has  charge  also  of  our  national 
banks  and  of  our  public  debt,  and  it  is  the  guardian  of 
the  financial  resources  of  the  United  States. 

Much  money  collected  from  taxes  and  othei  sources  is 
sent  to  the  Treasury  Department  to  be  kept  until  needed, 
and  there  is  usually  an  enormous  amount  on  h-and.  Our 
guide  takes  us  down  into  the  vaults  and  shows  us  how 


Vault  in  Treasury  Department  filled  with  sacks  of  silver  dollars. 

hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  gold  and  silver 
are  stored  there,  being  guarded  day  and  night  by  watch- 
men. In  other  rooms  we  are  shown  great  piles  of  bonds. 
We  see  also  bundles  of  new  bank  notes  stacked  up,  filling 
the  vaults  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling,  and  watch  the 
hundreds  of  clerks  who  are  handling  old  and  new  paper 
money. 

The  Treasury  Department  coins  or  prints  all  the  money 
of  the  United  States.    The  gold  and  silver  and  copper  coins 


THE  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT  43 

are  made  at  the  mints  in  Philadelphia,  Denver,  and  San 
Francisco,  but  the  currency,  as  our  paper  money  is  called, 
is  manufactured  in  Washington. 

The  money  factory  is  known  as  the  Bureau  of  Engraving 
and  Printing.  It  is  a  large  stone  and  brick  building  which 
lies  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  just  beyond  the  Wash- 
ington Monument,  and  we  go  there  to  see  it.  We  hear  the 
rattle  of  machinery  as  we  enter  the  door,  and  the  guide 
takes  us  through  room  after  room  where,  behind  iron 
latticework,  scores  of  men  and  women  are  busy  printing 
bank  notes  and  bonds.  The  women  wear  aprons  over 
their  dresses,  and  the  men  have  their  shirt  sleeves  rolled 
up  to  their  shoulders.  The  printing  is  dirty  work,  and 
every  one  in  the  press  room  is  spotted  with  ink.  In  another 
place  we  see  the  engravers,  who  with  sharp  tools  are 
cutting  in  steel  plates  the  fine  pictures  printed  upon  our 
bank  notes,  and  in  other  rooms  we  watch  the  wonderful 
engraving  machines  which  do  the  scroll  work. 

How  carefully  everything  is  guarded!  Watchmen  are 
stationed  in  each  room  during  the  day,  and  there  are 
steel  vaults  where  the  plates  for  making  the  bank  notes 
are  stored  away  at  night.  Not  one  of  the  employees  can 
leave  the  building  until  every  note  on  hand  has  been 
counted  and  every  sheet  of  paper  and  every  printing  plate 
is  known  to  be  in  its  place.  This  is  to  prevent  counter- 
feiters from  stealing  the  paper  and  plates  and  printing 
money  for  themselves. 

As  we  go  through  this  building  we  get  some  idea  of  the 
wealth  of  our  nation  by  seeing  the  great  volume  of  money 
required  for  its  business.  Bank  notes  representing  millions 
of  dollars  are  printed  here  in  one  day.  There  are  scores 
of  women  who  do  nothing  else  but  count  bank  notes.  How 
fast  they  work!  Their  fingers  go  like  lightning.  They 


44  NORTH   AMERICA 

do  not  move  their  lips,  but  they  are  counting  the  bills  at 
the  rate  of  a  hundred  a  minute. 

After  being  counted,  the  notes  are  tied  up  in  packages 
and  put  into  a  great  steel  box  upon  wheels  and  taken  in  a 
well-guarded  motor  car  to  the  Treasury  Department,  from 
which  they  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  Uncle 
Sam  never  sends  out  a  bank  note  a  second  time.  He  is 
like  the  old  peddler  in  the  story  of  Aladdin,  always  ready 
to  exchange  new  goods  for  old  ones. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  old  bank  notes? 

Come  with  me  and  we  shall  see.  All  of  the  old  money  is 
destroyed.  As  soon  as  the  bank  notes  come  into  the 
Treasury  they  are  cut  in  halves  and  taken  to  the  base- 
ment of  this  money  factory.  There  the  cut  notes  are  put 
into  a  big  round  iron  pot,  in  which  they  are  ground  up  by 
machinery  and  cooked  and  steamed  until  they  become  a 
pulpy  mixture,  which  looks  like  oatmeal  porridge  or  mush. 
Notes  that  once  represented  several  million  dollars  often 
form  the  grist  for  one  grinding.  Think  of  a  pot  of  mush 
made  of  two  million  dollars  in  bank  notes!  Would  you  not 
like  a  good  bowl  of  the  meal  before  it  is  cut  up  and  thrown 
into  the  kettle?  Yes,  but  alas,  there  is  no  chance  for  us  to 
get  at  any  of  this  money.  The  government  grinds  it  up  in 
order  to  prevent  any  one  from  stealing  the  notes  and  using 
them  as  money  again. 

It  is  in  the  Bureau  of  Engraving  and  Printing  that  our 
postage  stamps  are  made.  The  process  is  much  the  same 
as  that  of  making  bank  notes,  and  the  stamps  are  just  as 
carefully  watched  that  none  may  be  lost.  After  printing 
they  are  gummed  by  machinery.  Then  the  little  holes 
are  cut  around  them  with  sharp  wheels  on  somewhat  the 
same  principle  as  dough  is  cut  in  making  animal  crackers. 
The  government  sells  more  than  eleven  billion  postage 


THE  TREASURY  DEPARTMENT  45 


Perforating  sheets  of  postage  stamps.     The  stamps  are  printed  and 
gummed  by  other  machines. 

stamps  every  year,  or  more  than  a  thousand  for  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  our  country.  The  stamps 
range  in  value  from  one  cent  to  five  dollars.  A  single 
two  cent  stamp  is  all  that  is  needed  to  carry  the  story 
of  what  we  have  seen  this  morning  to  any  home  in  our 
country. 

1.  If  both  the  President  and  the  Vice  President  should  die,  who 
would  become  President? 

2.  What  is  the  business  of  the  State  Department? 


46  NORTH  AMERICA 

3.  If  you  were  going  abroad  how  would  you  show  that  you  are  an 
American  citizen? 

4.  What  is  a  treaty?    Why  is  it  necessary  to  have  treaties? 

5.  What  was  the  Declaration  of  Independence?    Who  wrote  it? 

6.  Why  does  the  government  of  the  United  States  need  an  army 
and  navy?    Do  you  know  any  one  who  has  served  as  a  soldier  or  a 
sailor?   Where  did  he  serve?    What  did  he  do? 

7.  What  is  the  business  of  the  Treasury  Department?    Why  do 
we  have  to  pay  taxes? 

8.  Where  is  our  paper  money  printed?    Read  the  wording  on  the 
face  of  paper  money.    Where  are  postage  stamps  printed? 


VI.   DEPARTMENTS    OF    THE    GOVERNMENT  — 
JUSTICE,  POST  OFFICE,   COMMERCE,  LABOR 

LEAVING  the  Treasury,  we  visit  the  Department  of 
Justice.  Here  we  call  upon  the  Attorney- General, 
who  is  the  chief  law  officer  of  our  government.  It  is  im- 
portant that  our  public  affairs  should  be  conducted  accord- 
ing to  law,  and  the  Attorney-General,  who  is  a  trained 
lawyer,  gives  his  advice  to  the  President  or  to  the  heads  of 
the  other  executive  departments  as  to  any  questions  of 
law  that  come  up.  He  appears  before  the  Supreme  Court 
and  Court  of  Claims  in  important  government  cases,  and 
has  the  superintendence  and  direction  of  the  United  States 
attorneys  and  marshals  in  different  parts  of  the  Union. 

Our  next  call  is  upon  the  Postmaster- General.  We  find 
him  in  the  gray  stone  building  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
which  is  devoted  to  the  Post  Office  Department,  but  his 
business  extends  to  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  every  city  and  town  of  the  world.  He  has 
under  him  hundreds  of  thousands  of  clerks,  postmasters, 
and  rural  delivery  agents.  The  mail  goes  by  railway, 


THE   POST  OFFICE  DEPARTMENT  47 

steamship,  and  motor  car,  and  on  horseback,  and  on  foot. 
Some  of  the  fast  mail  is  sent  by  airplane,  saving  thereby 
many  hours  in  the  delivery  of  letters. 

The  government  does  a  great  express  business  through 
the  post  office,  carrying  billions  of  parcel  post  packages 
every  twelve  months,  and  it  acts  as  a  banker,  sending  more 
than  one  billion  dollars'  worth  of  money  orders  through  the 
mails  of  the  United  States  alone  in  one  year.  It  sends  also 
money  to  foreign  countries,  and  during  the  World  War 
orders  for  over  thirty  million  dollars  were  issued  and  these 
moneys  were  paid  to  the  persons  who  received  them  in  the 
lands  overseas.  We  have  also  postal  savings  banks,  where 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  people  deposit  their  money,  re- 
ceiving interest  thereon  as  long  as  it  is  left  in  the  bank. 

As  we  go  through  the  Post  Office  Department,  we  see  the 
clerks  working  in  the  offices  devoted  to  the  various  branches 
of  the  service.  In  the  foreign  mail  division  we  learn  that 
all  the  nations  of  the  world  have  joined  together  as  to  their 
mails,  and  that  for  two  cents  one  can  have  a  postcard  car- 
ried to  almost  any  place  upon  earth,  and  for  five  cents  a 
sealed  letter  to  the  most  distant  part  of  the  globe. 

In  another  building  we  visit  the  dead  letter  office.  When 
a  letter  is  so  badly  addressed  that  the  postman  cannot  read 
the  writing,  or  when  he  is  unable  to  find  the  person  to  whom 
it  is  directed,  it  is  returned  to  the  sender,  if  his  address  is 
given  on  the  envelope.  But  if  the  letter  can  neither  be 
delivered  nor  returned,  it  is  called  dead.  It  is  then  for- 
warded to  the  dead  letter  office,  where  it  is  opened  by  the 
clerks  and  if  possible  sent  back  to  the  writer.  Millions  of 
dead  letters  are  received  here  every  year.  The  signatures 
to  many  of  them  are  so  poorly  written  that  they  cannot  be 
made  out,  and  in  many  other  cases  the  writer's  address  is 
not  given.  Some  of  the  letters  contain  money,  and  we  are 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF   COMMERCE  49 

told  that  notes  and  drafts  worth  more  than  a  million  dol- 
lars are  mailed  annually  in  -envelopes  so  badly  addressed 
that  they  come  to  the  dead  letter  office.  In  some  cases  the 
writing  cannot  be  read  and  both  money  and  letters  are  lost 
to  their  owners.  From  this  we  see  how  important  it  is  to 
learn  to  write  well,  and  also  to  put  one's  address  on  both 
letters  and  envelopes. 

Leaving  the  Post  Office  Department,  we  take  the  electric 
cars  for  the  Department  of  Commerce.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  important  of  all  the  branches  of  our  government 
business.  It  has  to  do  with  the  United  States  as  both  store 
and  factory.  Its  business  is  to  foster  and  develop  our 
foreign  and  domestic  commerce,  as  well  as  our  manufactur- 
ing, shipping,  and  fishing  industries.  It  makes  charts  of 
the  coasts  and  coastal  waters  of  the  United  States,  showing 
where  it  is  safe  for  vessels  to  go,  and  keeps  lighthouses 
along  the  rocky  shores  for  the  protection  of  our  steamers. 
It  sees  that  all  steamers  are  fitted  out  with  life  preservers; 
and  that  they  have  wireless  telegraph  equipment,  so  that 
they  can  call  for  aid  in  case  of  a  wreck. 

The  Bureau  of  Fisheries  helps  to  protect  our  great  fishing 
industry,  plants  new  fishing  grounds,  and  keeps  up  the  old 
ones.  The  Bureau  distributes  more  than  three  billion  eggs 
and  fish  every  year,  of  which  more  than  two  and  a  half 
billions  are  tiny  fish  known  as  fry.  The  waters  of  the  United 
States  give  us  more  than  sixty  million  dollars'  worth  of  food 
every  year,  including  the  oysters  and  clams  we  find  so  de- 
licious. 

The  Secretary  of  Commerce  has  charge  of  the  Census 
Bureau,  whose  business  it  is  to  count  our  people  every  ten 
years  so  that  we  can  know  just  how  many  citizens  we  have 
and  what  they  are  doing.  He  tells  us  that  we  are  rapidly 
increasing  in  population,  and  that  we  now  number  about 


50  NORTH  AMERICA 

one  sixteenth  of  the  whole  human  race.  He  says  that  we 
have  the  greatest  commerce  of  all  nations,  and  that  our 
country  and  people  are  steadily  growing  in  manufactures 
and  wealth. 

It  is  not  far  from  the  Department  of  Commerce  to  the 
Department  of  Labor,  where  we  meet  the  men  charged 
with  the  duty  of  promoting  and  developing  the  welfare  of 
ths  wage  earners  of  the  United  States.  Nearly  all  of  our 
people  do  work  of  one  kind  or  another,  and  the  Secretary 
of  Labor  aids  in  seeing  that  they  are  fairly  treated  by  their 
employers.  He  also  collects  information  regarding  their 
wages,  and  hours  of  work  in  this  and  other  countries.  He 
has  charge  of  administering  the  laws  by  which  foreigners 
may  come  into  this  country,  and  of  showing  them  how  to 
become  American  citizens. 

During  our  stay  in  this  department  we  visit  the  Chil- 
dren's Bureau.  This  bureau  investigates  and  reports  upon 
all  matters  relating  to  the  welfare  of  children  among  all 
classes  of  our  people.  It  helps  to  see  that  no  child  is  em- 
ployed in  a  dangerous  occupation,  and  that  he  is  not  put 
to  work  in  factories  before  he  is  fourteen  years  of  age,  and 
in  mines  or  quarries  until  he  is  sixteen  or  over. 


VII.  DEPARTMENTS   OF   THE   GOVERNMENT 
INTERIOR  AND  AGRICULTURE 


is  our  last  day  in  Washington,  and  there  is  so 
JL  much  more  to  see  that  we  hardly  know  where  to 
begin.  We  shall  devote  the  time  to  learning  something 
about  the  great  resources  of  the  country  we  are  to  explore. 
We  can  do  this  best  by  visiting  the  Department  of  the 
Interior  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR  51 

The  Department  of  the  Interior  has  charge  of  all  patents, 
pensions,  and  public  lands.  It  takes  care  of  our  national 
parks,  and  of  the  reclaiming  of  our  waste  lands  in  deserts 
and  swamps,  Belonging  to  it  also  are  the  Geological 
Survey,  some  of  whose  employees  are  engaged  in  making 
maps  of  the  country,  and  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  which  looks 
after  our  vast  mineral  wealth. 

The  Interior  Department  has  charge  of  educational 
matters,  and  of  the  Indians,  and  of  many  things  in  Alaska, 
including  the  reindeer.  In  the  educational  bureau  we  are 
told  that  there  are  more  than  sixteen  million  children  in 
daily  attendance  in  our  public  schools,  and  that  one  million 
children  are  now  enlisted  in  the  school  garden  army.  From 
the  school  gardens  of  the  United  States  now  comes  annually 
more  than  ten  million  dollars'  worth  of  food. 

In  the  Geological  Survey  we  see  maps  of  the  counties 
in  which  we  live,  showing  all  the  hills  and  hollows,  and  in 
the  Bureau  of  Mines  we  learn  much  about  the  riches  of 
our  country  buried  in  the  rocky  heart  of  the  earth.  The 
United  States  has  more  of  many  minerals  than  any  other 
country.  This  is  true  of  copper  and  zinc,  and  of  coal, 
petroleum,  and  iron.  We  have  coal  in  thirty  different 
states,  and  it  is  said  there  is  enough  to  keep  us  going  for 
seven  thousand  years  if  we  do  not  increase  the  amount 
we  are  using.  We  are  producing  more  than  half  of  the 
petroleum  that  comes  from  the  earth,  and  we  have  so 
•much  water  power  that  if  it  were  all  put  to  work  it  could 
operate  our  factories,  run  our  railways,  and  light  and  heat 
all  of  our  homes. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  is,  if  anything,  even  more 
interesting  than  the  Department  of  the  Interior.  The 
United  States  has  .more  than  six  million  farms,  which 
produce  enough  grain  in  one  year  to  give  more  than  two 


$2  NORTH  AMERICA 

hundred  bushels  to  every  family  in  our  whole  country. 
In  some  years  we  produce  one  fourth  of  all  the  wheat  raised 
on  the  earth.  Moreover,  our  farm  animals  are  so  many 
that  if  we  could  round  them  up  and  divide  them  evenly 
among  us,  every  family  would  have  three  hogs,  three 
cattle,  two  sheep,  and  a  horse.  In  addition  there  are  tens 
of  millions  of  turkeys,  chickens,  and  ducks.  When  we 
think  of  all  this  we  wonder  how  an  American  stomach' 
can  ever  go  empty. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture  is  always  studying  the 
needs  of  our  farmers  and  trying  to  help  them  make  their 
lands  produce  more.  It  has  men  traveling  over  the  world 
to  find  new  seeds  and  plants,  and  it  suggests  new  crops  and 
new  methods  of  farming.  It  is  doing  a  great  work,  in  teach- 


In  the  laboratories  of  the  Department  of1  Agriculture,   scientists 
experiment  with  plants  from  all  over  the  world. 


THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  53 

ing  the  children  how  to  raise  certain  crops  and  make  money 
out  of  rearing  farm  animals.  For  this  purpose  it  has  es- 
tablished corn  clubs  and  cotton  clubs  and  canning  associa- 
tions in  thousands  of  farming  localities.  There  are  clubs 
of  boys  and  girls  who  raise  poultry  and  eggs,  and  hundreds 
of  boys'  clubs  whose  members  rear  sheep,  cattle,  and  pigs 
according  to  the  rules  sent  out  by  this  department.  In  a 
great  many  cases  the  boys  of  these  clubs  have  more  success 
with  their  animals  than  their  fathers  who  farm  in  the 
old-fashioned  way.  We  shall  visit  some  of  these  clubs  in 
our  travels. 

At  the  suggestion  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  we 
visit  the  Weather  Bureau,  which  has  charge  of  the  daily 
reports  as  to  whether  it  will  rain  or  snow  or  be  clear  in  each 
part  of  the  country.  The  Bureau  employs  all  the  time 
about  eight  hundred  expert  weather  observers  who  are 
located  at  several  hundred  stations  throughout  the  United 
States  and  the  West  Indies.  They  telegraph  daily  reports 
as  to  the  weather  conditions  of  their  localities.  From  these 
the  Bureau  can  judge  which  way  the  winds  and  storms  are 
going,  and  the  possibilities  of  rain  and  snow.  The  Bureau 
receives  two  sets  of  weather  telegrams  from  its  observers 
every  day,  one  at  8  a.  m.  and  one  at  8  p.  m.,  and  it  is  from 
these  that  it  makes  the  weather  charts  and  forecasts  for 
the  next  thirty-six  hours.  The  forecasts  are  telegraphed 
all  over  the  country,  and  also  to  vessels  about  to  sail  over 
the  oceans.  They  are  published  in  the  weather  maps  and 
in  the  newspapers,  and  are  of  very  great  value  to  many 
classes  of  people.  The  warnings  for  a  single  hurricane  have 
kept  in  port  vessels  containing  cargoes  valued  at  more 
than  thirty  million  dollars,  and  the  warnings  of  frost  during 
one  cold  wave  saved  oranges  and  lemons  worth  fourteen 
million  dollars. 

CARP.    N.    AMER. 4 


54  NORTH  AMERICA 

After  watching  the  men  making  weather  maps,  we  go 
to  the  Forestry  Service,  which  has  charge  of  our  national 
woodlands  and  timber  supply.  The  officials  tell  us  that 
a  third  of  the  United  States  was  once  so  covered  with 
trees  that  one  could  ride  for  days  and  months  and  not 
get  out  of  the  woods.  But  the  people  wanted  the  land 
for  farms,  and  they  destroyed  the  trees  in  every  possible 
way.  Many  were  burned  to  get  rid  of  them,  and  those 
used  for  lumber  were  so  carelessly  cut  that  much  of  the 
best  wood  was  lost.  We  have  still  a  great  deal  of  forest, 
but  the  trees  are  being  cut  down  so  rapidly  that  the  time 
may  yet  come  when  we  shall  not  have  enough  lumber  for 
our  houses.  The  officers  tell  us  that  we  are  felling  so 
many  trees  every  year  that  if  sawed  into  boards  they 
would  make  a  plank  road  a  foot  thick,  wide  enough  for 
two  big  motor  cars  abreast,  and  so  long  that  it  would  reach 
as  far  as  from  the  earth  to  the  moon.  They  give  us  maps 
of  our  chief  forest  regions,  and  we  decide  to  visit  them 
during  our  travels. 

1.  What  officer  is  at  the  head  of  the  Department  of  Justice? 

2.  What  is  the  business  of  the  Post  Office  Department?    Who  is 
the  representative  of  this  department  in  your  town? 

3.  What  is  the  rural  delivery  service?    The  parcel  post  service? 
What  are  dead  letters,  and  how  are  they  cared  for?    Why? 

4.  Why  do  we  need  a  Department  of  Commerce?     Of  Labor? 
Mention  some  of  the  duties  of  each. 

5.  Describe  the  work  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 

6.  What  department  helps  the  farmers?    How  many  farms  have 
we  in  the  United  States?    What  do  you  know  of  the  boys'  corn 
clubs?   Of  the  girls'  canning  clubs?    Of  the  pig  clubs?    Why  are  they 
formed? 

7.  Why  do  we  need  a  Weather  Bureau?    Get  a  weather  report  and 
tell  what  it  means. 

8.  Why  do  we  need  a  Forestry  Service?    What  is  the  duty  of  this 
service? 


BALTIMORE  AND  THE  OYSTER  BEDS  55 

VIII.  BALTIMORE  AND   THE  OYSTER  BEDS 

WE  leave  Washington  this  morning  on  our  way  to  New 
York.  The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  the  Pennsyl- 
vania railways,  which  run  between  the  two  cities,  have  fast 
express  trains  that  make  the  journey  in  a  little  more  than 
five  hours.  But  as  the  country  is  thickly  populated,  and 
we  shall  pass  through  several  large  cities,  we  shall  stop  off 
on  the  way. 

We  take  automobiles  to  the  Union  Station,  which  is  not 
far  from  the  Capitol.  It  is  a  white  granite  building  cover- 
ing almost  six  acres,  surrounded  by  beautiful  grounds  with 
a  marble  statue  of  Columbus  before  the  entrance.  We 
buy  our  tickets  and  are  soon  on  the  train.  We  reach  Balti- 
more in  less  than  an  hour. 

Baltimore  is  one  of  the  chief  ports  of  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board. It  lies  on  the  Patapsco  River  near  the  head  of  Chesa- 
peake Bay.  The  largest  ocean  steamers  can  come  in  from 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  through  Hampton  Roads  and  sail  up  the 
bay  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  and  land  at  its  wharves; 
and  several  trunk  lines  of  railway  connect  it  with  all  parts 
of  the  United  States.  One  of  these,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad,  uses  the  gateway  of  the  Potomac  valley  through 
the  Appalachian  Highland  to  the  west.  Baltimore  is  near 
the  coal  fields  of  Virginia,  West  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania, 
so  that  it  has  cheap  fuel  for  manufacturing.  It  has  steel 
plants  and  shipbuilding  works,  and  it  refines  a  great  deal 
of  copper.  It  makes  more  fertilizer,  straw  goods,  and  cotton 
duck  than  any  other  of  our  cities,  and  as  it  is  in  a  rich 
gardening  and  fruit-growing  region,  its  canneries  put  up 
great  quantities  of  fruit  and  vegetables  which  are  shipped 
to  all  parts  of  the  Union. 

We  go  first  to  the  harbor,  which  covers  more  than  six 


56  NORTH  AMERICA 

hundred  acres.  There  are  large  ocean  steamers  unloading 
bananas,  pineapples,  coconuts,  and  sugar  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  some  taking  on  corn,  wheat,  flour,  cotton, 
tobacco,  copper,  and  coal  for  shipment  abroad.  The  goods 
are  put  on  and  taken  off  the  ships  with  hydraulic  cranes, 
and  the  wheat  from  the  great  elevators  is  poured  down 
through  pipes  into  the  vessels. 

While  visiting  the  harbor  we  hire  a  boat  and  get  a  view  of 
Fort  McHenry,  whose  bombardment  by  the  British  in  1814 
caused  Francis  Scott  Key  to  write  "The  Star-spangled 
Banner."  You  may  remember  the  story.  It  was  during 
the  War  of  1812,  when  the  British  fleet  had  attacked  Fort 
McHenry,  and  Mr.  Key,  having  gone  out  to  one  of  the 
ships  under  a  flag  of  truce,  was  detained  there  during  the 
fighting.  As  he  watched  the  firing  throughout  the  night, 
his  heart  was  sick  with  anxiety;  for  he  could  not  tell  whether 
the  fort  had  fallen  until  the  day  broke.  He  then  saw  that 
the  flag  was  still  flying,  and  on  the  inspiration  of  the  mo- 
ment wrote  the  verses  of  the  song  on  the  back  of  a  letter 
before  leaving  the  ship.  As  we  look  at  the  place,  the  words 
come  to  us  and  we  sing: — 

"Oh,  say,  can  you  see,  by  the  dawn's  early  light, 

What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming? 
Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars,  through  the  perilous  fight, 

O'er  the  ramparts  we  watched,  were  so  gallantly  streaming? 
And  the  rockets'  red  glare,  the  bombs  bursting  in  air, 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  flag  was  still  there: 
Oh,  say,  does  that  star-spangled  banner  yet  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave?  " 

It  was  in  Baltimore  that  Randall  wrote  his  song,  "Mary- 
land, My  Maryland,"  and  here  Edgar  Allan  Poe  began  his 
career  as  a  writer  of  poems  and  stories. 

When  Washington  was  laid  out,  Baltimore  had  already 


Scene  in  the  heart  of  Baltimore,  showing  Mount  Vernon  Place  and  the 

Washington  Monument. 

57 


58  NORTH  AMERICA 

eight  thousand  people,  and  it  was  considered  one  of  the 
chief  towns  of  the  country.  It  now  contains  about  three 
quarters  of  a  million,  and  is  our  largest  city  south  of  Phila- 
delphia. We  visit  Druid  Hill  Park,  and  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  and  then  we  take  a  look  at  the  monument  which 
Baltimore  has  put  up  in  honor  of  George  Washington.  It 
is  a  marble  shaft  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  high, 
with  a  statue  of  Washington  on  top.  It  seems  small  in 
comparison  with  the  huge  structure  we  saw  at  the  national 
capital. 

We  find  ourselves  very  hungry  after  our  rapid  tour  of  the 
city,  and  decide  to  lunch  at  the  station  before  we  go  on  tc 
Philadelphia. 

What  shall  we  eat? 

We  order  oysters,  for  Baltimore  is  the  chief  oyster  and 
crab  market  of  the  world.  More  than  one  third  of  all  oui 
oysters  are  grown  in  the  waters  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and 
as  many  as  fifteen  million  crabs  are  caught  there  in  one  year. 
In  Baltimore  there  are  many  thousand  men  and  women 
who  do  nothing  but  take  oysters  out  of  their  shells  in  order 
that  they  may  be  shipped  in  tubs  and  cans  to  different  parts 
of  the  country.  We  Americans  eat  more  oysters  than  the 
people  of  any  other  nation.  We  consume  in  one  year  enough 
to  give  one  dozen  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  on  the 
globe,  and  still  leave  some  to  spare. 

Oysters  grow  nearly  everywhere  in  the  shallow  waters 
along  our  seacoast,  but  we  have  larger  oyster  beds  and  more 
good  oysters  in  Chesapeake  Bay  than  anywhere  else. 
Most  of  the  oysters  grow  of  themselves;  but  there  are  also 
oyster  farms,  where  shells  are  thrown  into  the  water  and 
seed  oysters  are  sown.  The  young  oysters  fasten  themselves 
to  the  shells  and  by  and  by  grow  shells  of  their  own. 

The  oysters  are  gathered  during  the  fall  and  winter  by 


BALTIMORE  AND  THE  OYSTER  BEDS 


59 


men  who  sail  in  boats  over  the  beds  where  they  lie.  The 
men  have  long  rakes,  which  they  push  down  into  the  water 
and  thus  drag  up  the  oysters.  Sometimes  they  use  dredges, 
or  great  shovels  worked  by  machinery,  which  scoop  the 
shellfish  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  bay. 


Emptying  oysters  from  a  dredge  on  the  deck  of  a  large  boat. 

But  here  come  our  oysters.  What  queer-looking  things 
they  are  as  they  lie  on  the  shells!  They  have  mouths, 
but  no  heads.  The  mouth  is  in  the  narrowest  portion  of  the 
body.  It  is  merely  a  hole  in  the  skin,  for  the  oyster  has 
neither  tongue  nor  teeth.  The  mouth  has  four  thin  lips, 
and  the  oyster  gets  its  food  by  filtering  through  them  the 
water  which  it  takes  into  its  mouth.  It  has  no  nose  and 
no  eyes,  but  scientists  say  that  it  will  close  up  its  shell  if 
a  shadow  passes  over  the  water  above  it.  Hence  it  must 


MIDDLE  ATLANTIC 
STATES 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


BALTIMORE  AND  THE  OYSTER  BEDS      6l 

have  some  way  of  knowing  what  is  going  on  about  it.  The 
oyster  has  gills  and  a  heart.  Its  stomach  is  a  little  bag 
which  lies  just  behind  the  mouth. 

As  we  think  of  these  things,  we  almost  hesitate  to  let 
the  oysters  slip  down  our  throats.  We  try  one,  however. 
The  delicious  taste  takes  away  our  scruples,  and  we  find 
ourselves  eating  a  dozen  before  we  are  satisfied. 

1.  Locate  Baltimore.    What  advantages  has  it  for  commerce  by 
sea?    By  interior  waterways?    By  railways? 

2.  On  a  globe  trace  a  shipment  of  corn  from  Baltimore  to  Liver- 
pool.   To  Hamburg.    Of  tobacco  to  Marseille.    Trace  a  shipment  of 
oysters  from  Baltimore  to  Chicago. 

3.  Make  a  trip  to  Baltimore  from  your  home  town,  giving  the 
distances  and  the  names  of  the  railways  over  which  you  go. 

4.  Compare  Baltimore  in  size  with  five  of  the  largest  cities  of 
North  America.    Of  South  America.    What  cities  of  Europe  are  of 
about  the  same  size? 

5.  Why  is  Baltimore  famous  as  an  oyster  market?    Describe  the 
oyster  industry,  and  tell  all  you  can  about  oysters.    (See  Carpenter's 
"How  the  World  is  Fed,"  page  171.) 

6.  From  what  oysters  do  the  pearls  of  commerce  come?     (See 
Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Clothed,"  page  299.) 


IX.  PHILADELPHIA— A  VISIT  TO  THE  MINT 

A  CAR    ride    of    ninety-seven    miles    takes    us    from 
Baltimore  to  Philadelphia  in  less  than  three  hours. 
We  cross  the  wide  Susquehanna  River  near  where  it  flows 
into   Chesapeake  Bay,  and  a  little  later  we  stop  at  the 
manufacturing  city  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  near  where 
General  Washington  fought  the  British  in  the  battle  of 
Brandywine. 
Long  before  we  reach  Philadelphia  itself  we  see  many 


62 


NORTH  AMERICA 


great  factories  and  realize  that  we  are  in  one  of  our  chief 
industrial  centers.  There  are  only  two  cities  in  the  United 
States  that  have  more  manufacturing  establishments  than 
Philadelphia,  and  they  are  New  York  and  Chicago.  There 
are  several  hundred  thousand  men  and  women  here  who 
make  things  to  sell.  Thousands  are  busy  weaving  cotton, 
woolen,  and  silk  into  cloths  and  carpets,  and  thousands 
are  making  knit  goods,  shoes,  felt  hats,  and  other  clothing. 


Flat  factory,  Philadelphia.    The  hats  are  made  of  felted  rabbit  fur. 
In  this  room  the  workmen  are  shaping  the  hats. 

There  are  so  many  thousands  engaged  in  shipbuilding  that 
the  Delaware  River  is  sometimes  called  the  American 
Clyde,  after  the  famous  shipbuilding  center  of  Scotland. 
The  finest  of  our  merchant  marine  and  the  greatest  of  our 


PHILADELPHIA  63 

men-of-war  are  built  here.  Philadelphia  makes  more  rail- 
road locomotives  than  any  other  city,  and  it  has  large 
numbers  of  people  engaged  in  manufacturing  other  things 
of  iron  and  steel,  in  the  refining  of  petroleum  and  sugar,  and 
in  the  manufacturing  of  leather.  It  has  also  a  large  chem- 
ical and  dye-making  industry. 

As  we  proceed  on  our  tour  over  the  United  States,  we 
shall  see  more  and  more  factories,  and  learn  that  our  manu- 
facturing industry  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  nation. 
When  our  country  was  first  settled,  most  of  the  people 
were  farmers.  As  more  came  they  began  to  make  things  to 
sell.  This  has  gone  on  until  now  a  very  large  part  of  our 
population  is  engaged  in  manufacturing.  We  have  more 
than  twelve  times  as  many  factories  as  we  had  forty  years 
ago,  and  billions  of  dollars  are  earned  every  year  by  those 
who  work  in  them.  If  we  could  see  all  the  laboring  people 
of  the  world,  we  should  perceive  that  those  of  the  United 
States  are  better  fed,  better  clothed,  and  better  housed  than 
those  of  any  other  nation.  This  is  especially  true  of 
Philadelphia.  The  people  we  meet  are  well  dressed,  and  we 
walk  for  miles  through  long  streets  of  neat  little  houses  built 
of  red  brick,  with  steps  of  white  marble.  These  are  the 
homes  of  the  working  people,  and  it  is  said  that  more 
persons  own  their  homes  in  Philadelphia  than  in  any 
.other  city  of  its  size. 

Why  has  Philadelphia  become  a  great  manufacturing 
city? 

One  reason  is  because  it  is  so  situated  that  raw  materi- 
als can  be  brought  cheaply  to  it  and  its  manufactured  goods 
shipped  cheaply  to  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  Some 
of  the  lowest  passes  through  the  Appalachian  Highland 
can  be  reached  from  Philadelphia  so  that  railways  give  the 
city  an  easy  road  to  the  lands  farther  west.  It  has  several 


Ocean  liner,  built  in  Philadelphia,  almost  ready  for  launching. 

64 


PHILADELPHIA  65 

important  trunk  lines  of  railway.  The  Pennsylvania 
system,  which  has  its  headquarters  here,  controls  so  many 
iron  tracks  that  if  they  were  joined  together  they  would 
reach  halfway  around  the  world. 

Philadelphia  is  also  a  seaport,  although  it  is  almost  one 
hundred  miles  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Large  vessels  can 
sail  up  through  Delaware  Bay  and  on  the  Delaware  River 
to  Philadelphia,  bringing  the  raw  materials  to  the  factories 
and  carrying  the  goods  made  from  them  to  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  Schuylkill  (skdoTkil)  and  Delaware  rivers, 
which  here  come  together,  furnish  Philadelphia  with  more 
than  thirty  miles  of  water  front  for  docks  and  shipyards. 
They  also  give  water  power  for  manufacturing  purposes, 
and  the  city  lies  so  near  the  bituminous  coal  mines  of 
Pennsylvania  that  the  fuel  for  steam  and  electric  power 
costs  but  little.  Moreover,  the  only  large  beds  of  anthra- 
cite coal  in  America  are  situated  not  far  away.  This  coal 
makes  a  great  heat  and  is  valuable  for  manufacturing. 
It  is  used  largely  also  as  a  fuel  to  heat  our  homes.  Anthra- 
cite is  so  hard  that  for  a  long  time  people  did  not  think  it 
would  burn.  But  to-day  many  of  us  are  protected  from 
the  cold  of  the  winters  by  nothing  else  than  anthracite 
coal. 

Philadelphia  was  founded  by  the  Quakers  under  William 
Perm,  to  whom  the  King  of  England  had  granted  the  tract 
which  afterwards  became  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  Phila- 
delphia is  sometimes  called  the  Quaker  City  and  also,  as 
its  name  indicates,  the  "City  of  Brotherly  Love."  During 
most  of  the  Revolution,  and  also  from  1790  to  1800,  it  was 
the  capital  of  the  United  States.  It  was  here  that  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  met,  and  here  that  our  Constitution  was 
drawn  up. 

We  go  to  Independence  Hall,  where  the  Declaration  of 


66 


PHILADELPHIA  67 

Independence  was  adopted  and  the  Constitution  was 
framed,  and  where  hangs  the  famous  Liberty  Bell,  and 
then  to  Carpenter's  Hall,  where  the  first  Continental 
Congress  assembled.  We  visit  the  old  Customhouse 
modeled  after  the  Greek  Parthenon,  look  at  the  home  of 
Betsy  Ross,  who  made  the  first  United  States  flag  of  stars 
and  stripes,  and  then  walk  about  the  City  Hall,  an  enor- 
mous structure  of  granite  and  marble  covering  more  than 
four  acres.  Upon  its  tall  tower  is  one  of  the  largest  statues 
of  the  world.  It  is  a  bronze  figure  of  William  Penn,  made 
by  Philadelphia  workmen.  It  does  not  seem  large  as  seen 
from  the  ground;  but  it  is  really  as  tall  as  a  three-story 
house,  and  the  buttons  on  the  coat  are  as  large  around  as  a 
tea  plate. 

During  our  tour  of  the  city  we  linger  a  moment  at  the 
grave  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  It  is  in  the  yard  of  Christ 
Church,  in  the  midst  of  the  hum  and  hurry  of  the  busy  city, 
marked  only  by  a  plain  marble  slab.  It  was  in  Philadelphia 
that  Benjamin  Franklin  lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life. 
He  was  born  in  Boston,  and  learned  there  the  trade  of  a 
printer.  He  was  only  a  boy  when  he  came  to  Philadelphia 
to  find  work,  and  his  first  meal  here  was  a  loaf  of  bread 
which  he  bought  and  ate  as  he  walked  through  the  streets. 
He  afterwards  became  a  great  man  and  was  of  much  serv- 
ice to,  the  United  States. 

When  Franklin  first  came  to  Philadelphia,  it  was  larger 
than  New  York,  and  it  remained  so  until  the  Erie  Canal 
was  built.  After  that  New  York  got  ahead,  but  Philadelphia 
continued  to  be  the  second  city  of  the  United  States  for 
many  years,  and  it  is  now  surpassed  in  size  only  by  New 
York  and  Chicago.  It  has  almost  two  million  people.  As 
we  look  at  its  magnificent  buildings  we  can  hardly  realize 
that  the  people  lived  in  bark  houses  or  caves  while  the 


08  NORTH  AMERICA 

first  houses  were  building,  less  than  three  hundred  years 
ago,  and  when  we  are  told  the  enormous  value  of  the  land 
where  the  city  now  stands  we  think  of  the  price  at  which 
the  whole  state  was  granted  to  William  Perm.  It  was  in 
payment  of  a  debt  of  eighty  thousand  dollars  due  Admiral 
Penn,  who  was  William  Perm's  father,  for  services  rendered 
the  king.  The  sum  equals  only  about  one  third  of  a  cent 
per  acre. 

We  visit  the  mint,  where  most  of  our  gold,  silver,  and 
copper  money  is  coined.  We  have  mints  also  in  Denver 
and  San  Francisco,  but  the  Philadelphia  mint  is  the  oldest, 
having  been  founded  during  the  presidency  of  George 
Washington.  The  first  coins  made  were  copper  cents. 
Coins  of  gold  and  silver  were  minted  later,  and  last  of  all 
came  the  nickel. 

The  mint  is  situated  in  the  heart  of  Philadelphia,  not 
far  from  the  City  Hall.  There  are  guards  at  the  door,  and 
visitors  are  carefully  watched  as  they  are  taken  from  room 
to  room  and  shown  the  processes  of  coining.  The  super- 
intendent of  the  mint  is  our  guide.  He  leads  us  down  into 
the  vaults,  where  the  gold  and  silver  bullion  and  coins 
are  stored  away.  In  one  vault  we  see  millions  of  silver 
dollars  tied  up  in  bags,  and  stacked  against  the  wall  like 
so  much  corn.  In  a  smaller  room  are  gold  bricks  piled  up 
in  regular  order. 

The  superintendent  asks  us  to  lift  one  of  the  bricks,  but 
our  fingers  slip  off  it  as  if  it  were  glued  to  the  floor.  It 
is  small  and  looks  light,  but  it  weighs  forty  pounds,  or 
as  much  as  a  six-year-old  boy.  It  is  from  such  bricks 
that  our  gold  money  is  made.  We  next  enter  a  room 
where  men  are  melting  gold  together  with  a  little  copper 
— 9  pounds  of  gold  to  i  of  copper — in  order  that  the  corns 
may  be  harder  and  wear  better.  The  pure  gold  we  saw 


A    VISIT   TO   THE   MINT  69 

in  the  bricks  is  so  soft  that  we  could  scratch  it  with  our 
finger  nails.  The  superintendent  tells  us  that  coins  of 
pure  gold  would  soon  wear  away,  and  that  a  wedding  ring 
of  pure  gold  would  not  last  many  years. 

The  melted  gold  is  cast  into  strips  or  ingots  about  a  foot 
long,  two  inches  thick,  and  as  wide  as  a  twenty-dollar 
gold  piece.  It  is  from  such  ingots  that  the  golden  eagles, 
worth  twenty  dollars,  are  made. 

As  we  go  on  into  the  silver-melting  room  we  see  how 
the  metal  for  the  silver  dollars  is  cast  into  ingots  of  the 
same  form,  and  follow  the  ingots  to  learn  how  they  are 
made  into  dollars. 

We  soon  find  that  our  coins  are  not  cast  in  molds,  like 
bullets,  as  some  of  us  had  guessed;  instead  they  are  stamped 
out  of  the  gold  or  silver  metal.  The  silver  ingots  are 
rolled  between  cylinders  of  steel  so  graduated  that  the 
ingots  grow  longer  and  thinner  as  they  are  pulled  back  and 
forth,  until  at  last  they  are  just  a  little  wider  and  about  as 
thick  as  a  silver  dollar.  The  metal  is  now  in  long  bands, 
and  from  these  bands  a  vertical  steel  punch  cuts  out  the 
blank  or  round  pieces  of  silver  of  which  the  dollars  are 
to  be  made. 

It  is  important  that  every  coin  should  have  the  right 
amount  of  silver  in  it,  so  each  blank  is  automatically 
weighed  before  it  is  stamped.  It  is  then  taken  down  into 
the  basement  of  the  mint,  and  is  shoveled  with  thousands 
of  other  blanks  into  a  vat  of  acid,  which  eats  off  the  dirt. 
It  is  now  ready  to  go  upstairs  to  be  coined. 

The  coining  is  done  in  machines  into  which  the  blanks 
are  fed  through  a  long  tube,  so  that  the  blank  is  dropped 
between  two  dies.  The  upper  die  bears  the  picture  of 
the  goddess  of  liberty,  and  the  lower  that  of  the  American 
eagle.  As  the  blank  lies  there,  the  two  dies  come  together 


Cutting  out  blanks  for  silver  dollars. 
70 


A   VISIT   TO   THE    MINT  71 

upon  it,  exerting  pressure  so  great  that  the  pictures  and 
letters  are  stamped  on  the  coin. 

Gold  and  copper  coins  are  made  in  the  same  way.  The 
total  value  of  the  gold  pieces  coined  in  the  mints  of  the 
United  States  from  1792  to  1914  is  more  than  three  thou- 
sand million  dollars,  and  that  of  the  silver  pieces  is  hun- 
dreds of  millions.  Shortly  after  we  took  possession  of 
the  Philippines,  eighty-six  million  coins  for  those  islands 
were  made  in  this  building. 

Leaving  the  mint,  we  go  to  Franklin  Field,  the  athletic 
grounds  of  the  Pennsylvania  University,  to  watch  the 
boys  play  football,  and  thence  to  the  Zoological  Garden, 
which  is  free  to  school  children.  We  visit  Girard  College, 
which  was  founded  by  a  rich  man  for  the  education  of 
poor  orphan  boys,  and  take  a  trip  to  Fairmount  Park, 
one  of  the  largest  and  finest  city  parks  in  the  world,  lying 
on  both  sides  of  the  Schuylkill  River.  Then  after  a  meal 
at  the  railroad  station  at  Broad  Street,  we  take  the  train 
for  New  York. 

1.  Locate  Philadelphia.    How  far  is  it  from  the  sea?    On  what 
rivers?    In  what  state?    Give  its  distance  by  railway  from  New  York. 
From  New  Orleans.    From  San  Francisco.    (See  table,  page  498.) 
How  far  is  it  by  railway  from  your  home? 

2.  What  advantages  has  Philadelphia  as  a  seaport?    As  a  manu- 
facturing center?    Ask  your  coal  dealer  where  he  buys  his  hard  coal. 
Ask  your  railroad  agent  where  the  locomotives  of  his  railroad  are  made. 

3.  Who  was  Benjamin  Franklin?    What  famous  experiment  did  he 
make  with  a  kite? 

4.  When  and  how  long  was  Philadelphia  the  capital  of  the  United 
States?    Who  was  President  of  the  United"  States  during  part  of  that 
time?    Name  three  great  historic  events  that  occurred  here.    Why  is 
Philadelphia  called  the  Quaker  City?    Why  the  city  of  Brotherly 
Love? 

5.  Why  is  not  our  gold  coin  made  of  pure  gold?    What  is  an  ingot? 
A  die? 

CARP.    N.    AMF.R. — 5 


72  NORTH  AMERICA 

6.  Compare  the  Delaware  River  with  the  Clyde  as  to  shipbuilding. 
(See  Carpenter's  "Europe.") 

7.  Who  was  William  Penn?    About  what  sum  per  acre  did  he  pay 
for  the  state  of  Pennsylvania?    At  that  rate,  what  would  a  six  hun- 
dred acre  farm  cost?    What  is  the  cost  per  acre  of  farm  land  about 
your  town? 


X.  NEW  YORK  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  WONDERS 

IT  takes  us  two  hours  to  go  from  Philadelphia  to  New 
York.  The  distance  is  ninety-one  miles.  Our  train 
takes  us  through  Trenton,  the  capital  of  New  Jersey, 
near  where  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware  to  fight  his 
great  battle,  and  not  far  from  Princeton,  where  he  wrote 
his  farewell  address  to  the  army.  Trenton  is  famous  for 
its  pottery  manufactures,  making  all  kinds  of  wares  from 
common  china  to  fine  porcelain.  It  has  iron  works,  rubber 
factories,  and  wire  mills  that  are  the  largest  of  their  kind 
in  the  world. 

Farther  on  the  train  stops  at  other  industrial  centers, 
including  Newark  on  the  Passaic  River.  Newark  makes 
so  many  different  things  that  it  is  sometimes  called  the 
Birmingham  of  America,  in  comparison  with  Birmingham, 
the  famous  manufacturing  center  of  England.  We  see 
many  smokestacks,  and  great  factories  of  brick,  iron,  and 
glass  as  we  go  by.  Paterson,  the  silk-making  center,  is 
not  far  away,  and  this  whole  region,  which  is  only  a  few 
miles  from  New  York,  is  humming  with  industry. 

Our  train  stops  a  moment  near  the  banks  of  the  Hudson, 
and  then  shoots  into  a  tunnel  far  under  the  bed  of  the 
river.  It  is  now  cooler.  It  is  dark,  and  the  lights  are 
flashed  on  in  the  cars.  Our  ears  ring  as  we  ride  through  the 
compressed  air  of  the  tunnel,  and  the  noise  is  like  the 


NEW  YORK  AND   SOME  OF  ITS  WONDERS         73 

rushing  of  a  great  wind.  We  pass  lights  here  and  there, 
and  when  we  come  out  find  ourselves  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Station  in  one  of  the  busiest  parts  of  New  York. 

There  are  other  tunnels  in  New  York,  and  we  might 
cross  under  the  East  River  to  Brooklyn  or  go  underground 
to  many  other  parts  of  the  city.  These  tunnels  are  really 
steel  tubes  so  encased  with  cement  that  the  water  cannot 
seep  through.  They  are  lighted  and  ventilated  by  elec- 
tricity, and  the  cars  are  moved  by  the  same  motive  power. 

We  are  now  in  the  largest  city  of  the  world.  New  York 
proper  has  about  six  million  people,  and  the  metropolitan 
district  of  New  York,  which  includes  also  residences  and 
manufacturing  suburbs,  contains  about  eight  millions, 
exceeding  the  population  of  London.  It  has  about  one 
fourteenth  of  all  the  people  of  the  United  States.  Indeed, 
it  is  difficult  to  realize  how  big  New  York  is.  It  grows  upon 
us  at  every  step  as  we  travel  through  it.  We  ask  for  a 
hotel,  and  hardly  know  which  to  choose  when  we  are  told 
that  there  are  so  many  in  New  York  that  we  could  lodge 
in  a  different  one  every  night  for  three  years  without  going 
outside  the  city. 

We  learn  also  that  New  York  has  thousands  of  apart- 
ment houses,  and  that  new  ones  are  constantly  being  built. 
Four  million  New  Yorkers  live  in  apartments,  ranging 
from  the  tenement  houses  in  the  poorer  districts  to  the 
palace-like  buildings  in  the  fashionable  residential  sections. 

More  than  a  thousand  passenger  trains  leave  New  York 
every  day.  The  traffic  of  the  city  is  so  great  that  it  requires 
roads  both  above  and  below  ground,  and,  as  we  shall  see 
farther  on,  elevated  railroads,  the  cars  of  which  fly  through 
the  air  over  steel  tracks  supported  on  posts.  The  business 
sections  are  so  crowded  with  motor  trucks,  drays,  carts, 
and  automobiles  that  we  have  to  ask  a  policeman  to  help 


74 


NEW  YORK  AND   SOME  OF  ITS  WONDERS         75 

us  from  one  side  of  the  street  to  the  other.  The  police  are 
everywhere,  and  it  takes  more  than  ten  thousand  such 
men  to  keep  order.  They  are  dressed  in  blue  uniforms  with 
silver  badges  on  the  breasts  of  their  coats.  Many  are 
stationed  at  the  principal  street  crossings.  Such  an  officer, 
with  a  motion  of  his  hand  to  the  drivers,  will  hold  back 
the  traffic  on  one  of  the  intersecting  streets  while  the  traffic, 
and  the  people  are  crossing  it  on  the  other  street.  Then 
he  whistles  and  changes  the  signal  to  give  the  right  of  way 
again  to  the  traffic  on  the  first  street. 

At  first  we  determine  to  see  the  whole  city,  but  find  it 
has  so  many  streets  that  if  we  should  walk  ten  miles  every 
day  we  could  not  go  through  them  all  in  one  year,  and 
we  give  up  that  plan  in  despair. 

Before  we  go  on,  let  us  consider  just  where  New  York 
is;  for  it  is  its  situation  that  has  made  it  so  great.  The  city 
is  located  about  midway  on  the  coast  line  of  our  eastern 
states,  which  are  the  busiest  part  of  our  country.  It  is 
about  three  thousand  miles  from  Europe;  and  it  has  one 
of  the  largest  and  best  harbors  of  the  world.  The  oldest 
and  most  important  part  of  the  city  is  on  the  island  of 
Manhattan  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  other 
parts  include  the  Bronx  on  the  mainland  to  the  north, 
Staten  Island,  and  the  boroughs  of  Queens  and  Brooklyn 
on  Long  Island,  all  of  which  have  a  water  front  on  the 
rivers  or  on  New  York  Bay. 

From  this  harbor  run  the  easiest  routes  from  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  to  the  parts  of  the  United  States  where  most 
of  the  people  live.  Several  railroads  and  motor-truck  lines 
make  their  way  through  the  Hudson  and  Mohawk  valleys, 
where  the  pass  over  the  Appalachian  Highland  is  so  low 
that  freight  has  to  be  lifted  much  less  than  upon  the  passes 
farther  south.  Therefore  the  cars  going  through  these 


76  NORTH  AMERICA 

valleys  can  carry  goods  more  cheaply  to  the  interior  of 
our  country  than  those  from  other  seaports. 

Moreover,  New  York  is  connected  with  the  Great  Lakes 
by  the  Hudson  River  and  the  New  York  Barge  Canal,  so 
that  the  vast  farming  and  manufacturing  regions  lying 
about  and  beyond  those  lakes  can  send  their  products  by 
water  to  New  York  for  shipment  to  Europe,  and  by  the 
same  route  have  cheap  goods  in  return.  This,  however, 
is  of  little  importance  in  comparison  with  the  advantages 
of  low  passes  for  the  railways,  which  carry  most  of  the 
traffic. 

The  anthracite  coal  mines  are  only  one  hundred  miles 
to  the  west,  and  bituminous  coal  comes  in  cheaply  by  rail 
and  by  sea.  Thus  fuel  as  well  as  the  raw  materials  for 
the  factories  can  be  brought  here  at  small  cost,  and  goods 
can  be  shipped  almost  anywhere  at  a  low  rate. 

The  island  of  Manhattan  is  not  more  than  fourteen  miles 
long.  It  is  so  narrow  that  we  can  walk  from  one  side  of 
it  to  the  other  at  almost  any  point  in  half  an  hour.  We 
shall  begin  to  explore  at  the  lower  part  of  the  island.  The 
ground  here  is  covered  with  buildings  so  high  that  as  we 
look  up  they  seem  almost  to  touch  the  sky.  They  wall  the 
sidewalks  so  that  the  streets  look  like  canyons.  One  of 
them  exceeds  by  almost  one  third  the  height  of  the  Wash- 
ington monument.  The  land  here  is  so  valuable  that  the 
people  seem  to  build  almost  to  the  heavens  to  utilize  every 
square  foot.  It  is  worth  so  much  that  all  the  gold  mines 
of  the  globe  could  not  in  ten  years  produce  enough  money 
to  buy  it. 

When  our  forefathers  came,  Manhattan  Island  belonged 
to  the  Indians.  What  do  you  think  the  Indians  got  for  it? 

They  sold  it  for  goods  worth  twenty-four  dollars.  The 
island  contains  twenty-two  thousand  acres,  and  at  that 


NEW  YORK  AND   SOME  OF  ITS  WONDERS         77 

rate  the  white  men  paid  for  each  acre  only  about  one  tenth 
of  a  cent.  It  was  rocky  and  covered  with  forests.  The 
Indians  did  not  think  it  of  any  value.  They  had  never 
heard  of  such  a  thing  as  a  seaport,  and  the  land  was  hard 
to  get  at  with  their  little  canoes.  They  did  not  know  what 
money  meant,  and  they  took  their  pay  in  ribbons,  beads, 
and  other  small  trinkets.  The  men  who  bought  the  island 
belonged  to  a  small  group  of  people  from  Holland.  They 
built  a  little  town  on  the  lower  end  of  it  and  named  it  New 
Amsterdam,  after  their  famous  city  Amsterdam.  The  place 
was  so  called  as  long  as  it  was  controlled  by  the  Dutch, 
but  a  little  later,  when  it  was  taken  by  the  English,  it  was 
renamed  New  York. 

The  little  settlement  grew  rapidly.  It  was  already  the 
second  city  of  the  United  States  when  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  signed,  and  soon  after  the  Erie  Canal 
was  opened  it  surpassed  Philadelphia  and  became  the  chief 
American  city.  There  is  no  doubt  that  it  will  continue  to 
grow,  and  that  it  will  always  hold  its  own  as  the  greatest 
city  of  the  world. 

We  spend  some  time  on  Broadway,  the  chief  business 
street  of  lower  New  York,  and  the  main  artery  into  which 
the  other  streets  flow.  How  lively  it  is  and  how  noisy! 
Every  one  is  on  the  rush,  and  as  we  join  the  hurrying  crowd 
we  are  jostled  and  pushed  this  way  and  that.  The  side- 
walks are  black  with  men,  women,  and  children  moving 
along,  paying  little  attention  to  any  one  but  themselves. 
The  roadways  are  blocked  with  motor  trucks  and  other  ve- 
hicles. There  are  frequent  jams,  and  the  drivers  often  scold 
one  another.  There  are  car  lines  running  through  the 
streets,  and  stations  by  which  we  can  go  down  into  the 
subways  at  every  few  blocks. 

Now  and  then  we  stop  and  look  up.    The  buildings  are 


NEW  YORK  AND   SOME  OF  ITS  WONDERS         79 

so  tall  we  could  not  shoot  an  arrow  as  high  as  their 
roofs.  Some  of  them  have  forty  or  more  stories;  one  has 
forty  acres  of  floor  space  and  its  elevator  shafts  if  placed 
end  to  end  would  reach  to  a  height  of  two  miles.  Another 
office  building  has  one  thousand  windows,  and  some  of  the 
great  hotels  have  more  than  two  thousand  rooms. 

These  great  office  structures  are  furnished  like  palaces. 
We  walk  through  them  over  floors  of  marble  and  fly  on 
elevators  from  story  to  story.  Some  have  post  offices  in 
them.  Others  have  stores  of  many  kinds  on  the  ground 
floor,  and  many  have  restaurants  in  the  top  story,  where 
we  eat  our  lunch  high  above  the  spires  of  the  tallest  church 
steeples.  Indeed,  one  could  live  in  one  of  these  large 
buildings  and  have  all  his  wants  supplied  without  going  out. 

Everything  is  business  in  this  part  of  New  York.  On  all 
sides  of  us  are  great  wholesale  establishments  and  there  are 
retail  stores  everywhere.  The  retail  drygoods  business 
alone  includes  two  thousand  stores,  employing  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people.  There  are  factories 
on  almost  every  block  and  as  we  go  through  the  side  streets 
we  observe  that  thousands  are  working  in  cellars  making 
many  kinds  of  goods  under  the  ground. 

We  walk  up  Broadway  past  City  Hall  Park,  and  then 
turn  and  go  back  a  few  blocks  down  the  street  to  Trinity 
Church,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  interesting  buildings  of 
the  United  States.  It  is  made  of  brownstone,  and  there 
is  a  large  churchyard  about  it,  in  which  are  the  graves  of 
some  famous  Americans  of  the  past.  The  yard  is  filled 
with  flowers  and  trees,  and  it  seems  strangely  peaceful  in 
contrast  with  the  pushing  throng  on  Broadway. 

We  enter,  and  stand  for  a  moment  by  the  tomb  of 
Robert  Fulton,  who  made  the  Clermont,  the  first  steam- 
boat that  sailed  on  the  Hudson  River.  Its  trial  trip  from 


8o  NORTH  AMERICA 

New  York  to  Albany  was  made  in  1807,  and  that  voyage 
proved  that  steamboats  would  be  profitable.  Therefore, 
we  may  call  Robert  Fulton  the  father  of  the  thousands  of 
steamships  which  come  to  New  York  every  year.  Near 
Robert  Fulton  lies  Captain  James  Lawrence,  the  hero  of  the 
frigate  Chesapeake,  and  the  author  of  the  saying,  "Don't 
give  up  the  ship";  and  at  the  lower  end  of  the  yard,  near 
the  fence,  we  see  a  white  marble  monument  under  which 
are  the  remains  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  one  of  the  founders 
of  our  government,  who  was  shot  by  Aaron  Burr  in  a  duel. 

Leaving  the  churchyard  and  crossing  Broadway,  we  take 
a  walk  through  the  Wall  Street  section,  where  are  the  offices 
of  the  men  who  own  or  direct  much  of  the  wealth  of  our 
country. 

Wall  Street  is  often  called  the  money  capital  of  the 
United  States.  Its  daily  transactions  amount  to  many 
millions  of  dollars  and  its  yearly  exchanges  are  reckoned  in 
billions.  The  sums  are  so  vast  we  cannot  comprehend 
them.  On  Broad  Street,  near  Wall,  is  the  Stock  Exchange, 
where  stocks  and  bonds  to  the  amount  of  billions  of  dollars 
are  bought  and  sold  annually.  By  stocks  are  meant  shares 
in  different  business  enterprises  such  as  railroads,  steam- 
ships, telegraphs  and  telephones,  as  well  as  in  all  our  great 
business  and  manufacturing  industries.  The  prices  of  such 
shares  sometimes  change  quickly,  and  men  make  and  lose 
fortunes  in  buying  and  selling  them.  It  is  in  the  Stock 
Exchange  that  such  work  is  done. 

We  are  admitted  to  the  gallery  of  the  building  and  look 
down.  In  the  great  room  below  us  are  hundreds  of  well- 
dressed  men,  some  with  hats  on  and  some  without,  running 
to  and  fro,  pulling  and  yelling  at  one  another.  They  are 
the  bankers  and  brokers  who  are  the  members  of  the  ex- 
change. It  costs  each  of  them  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars 


OUR  FOREIGN  COMMERCE  81 

for  the  privilege  of  buying  and  selling  there.  Each  has  a 
little  notebook  in  one  hand  and  a  pencil  in  the  other,  and 
with  these  he  jots  down  his  purchases  and  sales.  Telegraph 
boys  rush  in  and  out  through  the  crowd,  and  the  sight 
makes  us  think  of  a  crowd  of  crazy  people  rather  than  of 
sensible  men. 

Near  by  is  the  Produce  Exchange,  where  grain  of  all 
kinds  is  bought  and  sold.  New  York  is  one  of  the  chief 
grain  markets  of  the  world,  and  in  this  exchange  wheat, 
corn,  and  oats  are  sold  not  by  the  single  bushel,  but  by  the 
thousands  of  bushels.  The  smallest  amount  one  can  buy 
or  sell  is  five  thousand  bushels,  and  millions  of  bushels  are 
often  bought  in  one  day.  We  next  visit  the  Cotton  Ex- 
change, where  men  trade  in  cotton  in  large  quantities, 
and  our  heads  fairly  swim  as  we  try  to  understand  the 
vast  sums  involved  in  one  day's  business  of  this  financial 
center. 

We  are  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  bustle,  and  we  walk 
down  a  side  street  to  rest  our  eyes  and  ears  before  taking 
taxicabs  to  the  hotel  uptown  where  we  shall  stay  over 
night. 


XI.  OUR   FOREIGN   COMMERCE 

r  I  "'HE  largest  hotels  of  New  York  are  several  miles 
-L  above  the  place  where  Wall  Street  runs  into  Broad- 
way. That  in  which  we  stay  is  not  far  from  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Station,  and  when  we  start  out  in  the  morning  we  are 
in  the  heart  of  one  of  the  great  shopping  districts.  Broad- 
way here  is  almost  as  busy  as  down  at  Trinity  Church,  and 
Fifth  and  Sixth  avenues  and  the  side  streets  leading  to  them 
are  so  lined  with  store  windows  that  as  we  walk  along  we 


82  NORTH  AMERICA 

seem  to  be  going  through  a  huge  museum  walled  with  glass 
cases. 

Goods  of  all  kinds  are  spread  out  before  us,  and  we  see 
that  every  nation  of  the  world  has  sent  its  products  to  New 
York  for  sale.  Those  bright-colored  silks  over  there  came 
from  China.  They  were  woven  on  rude  looms  by  yellow- 
skinned,  slant-eyed  men  and  women  upon  the  banks  of 
the  Yangtze  River.  They  were  brought  to  America  on  a 
steamship  through  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  Red  Sea,  and  the 
Suez  Canal.  They  crossed  the  Mediterranean,  passed 
through  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  and  thence  came  to  New 
York.  Those  rich  velvets  and  laces  were  brought  across 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  Europe;  and  those  diamonds  you 
see  in  that  jewelry  store  were  dug  by  black-skinned,  half- 
naked  men  in  the  mines  of  South  Africa. 

Here  is  a  tea  store  supplied  by  the  bushes  of  the  Hima- 
laya Mountains  in  northern  India  and  by  the  tea  gardens 
of  Japan  and  China.  Next  to  it  is  a  shop  where  one  can 
buy  coffee  from  Brazil  and  sugar  from  Cuba.  That  toy 
store  has  many  French  dolls  and  curious  mechanical  play- 
things made  in  the  mountains  of  Germany;  and  the  tiger- 
skin  rug  an  the  window  next  door  once  covered  the  body 
of  a  beast  that  prowled  through  the  jungles  of  northern 
Hindustan.  There  are  other  things  all  about  us  from  every 
part  of  the  world,  and  we  resolve  to  go  to  the  wharves 
and  see  the  great  ships  which  bring  these  goods  into  our 
country. 

Let  us  first  take  a  ride  to  the  lower  part  of  the  island. 
New  York  is  so  crowded  that  the  surface  electric  cars 
require  a  long  time  to  make  their  way  from  one  end  of  it 
to  the  other.  For  this  reason  subways  have  been  dug  under 
the  streets,  and  elevated  railroads  have  been  built  high 
above  the  roadways.  All  the  lines  are  double- tracked. 


OUR   FOREIGN   COMMERCE  83 

Indeed,  the  subways  for  long  distances  have  four  tracks, 
and  the  elevated  railroads  three  tracks,  so  that  they  carry 
both  local  trains  and  express  trains.  The  cars  go  almost  as 
rapidly  as  on  an  ordinary  railway.  The  elevated  tracks 
are  supported  by  steel  columns  which  extend  to  the  height 
of  the  second  or  third  story  windows. 

We  have  to  walk  upstairs  to  get  to  the  train,  and  we  find 
ticket  offices  and  news  stands  on  the  elevated  platforms. 
Our  tickets  cost  us  five  cents  apiece.  We  drop  them  into  the 
box  at  the  door  of  the  station,  and  rush  for  the  cars.  As  we 
step  aboard,  the  guard  closes  the  iron  gates  at  the  side  of  the 
car  platform,  and  the  train  begins  to  move.  The  car 
windows  are  like  those  of  a  street  car,  and  we  can  see  into 
the  upper  stories  of  the  houses  as  we  ride  through  the  air. 
Here  women  are  washing  clothes,  there  they  are  cooking; 
here  we  go  by  a  shop  where  tailors  are  working,  and  there 
pass  buildings  given  up  to  other  manufacturing. 

New  York  has  more  factories  than  any  other  city  of  our 
country.  It  has  a  million  people  who  make  things  to  sell, 
and  the  different  kinds  of  industries  are  more  than  one 
thousand.  The  manufacturing  plants  number  twenty-five 
thousand.  The  capital  used  is  over  one  billion  dollars,  and 
if  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  United  States  should 
put  twelve  dollars  into  one  pile,  it  would  not  be  enough  to 
buy  the  goods  which  New  York  turns  out  in  one  year.  The 
city  makes  one  fourth  of  all  the  jewelry,  one  half  of  all  the 
clothing,  one  fifth  of  all  the  paint,  and  all  together  about 
one  tenth  of  all  the  manufactured  goods  produced  in  the 
United  States  in  one  year. 

Here  we  are  at  the  wharves.  What  a  crush  and  jam  there 
is  all  about  us!  The  streets  are  crowded  with  wagons  and 
motor  trucks  loaded  with  goods  on  their  way  to  the  ships. 
We  walk  past  great  piers  upon  which  are  long,  roomy 


OUR   FOREIGN   COMMERCE  85 

sheds  filled  with  bales,  boxes,  and  barrels,  where  scores  of 
men  are  at  work  loading  and  unloading  vessels. 

Manhattan  alone  has  over  fifty  miles  of  water  front, 
and  there  is  as  much  more  space  for  wharves  and  landing 
places  on  the  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey  shores.  More 
than  half  of  all  that  we  buy  of  foreign  nations  and  about  two 
fifths  of  all  we  sell  to  them,  pass  through  the  port  of  New 
York. 

Our  imports,  with  the  exception  of  silk,  rubber,  hides, 
wool  and  certain  other  fibers,  and  a  few  things  that  cannot 
well  be  raised  in  America,  consist  almost  altogether  of  man- 
ufactured articles.  We  are  the  chief  manufacturing  nation 
of  the  world,  but  our  factories  are  not  numerous  enough  to 
supply  all  our  needs,  and  so  we  import  much  from  other 
countries.  The  amount  of  money  we  spend  in  this  way  is 
so  great  that  if  it  were  equally  divided  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  of  us  would  get  ten  dollars '  worth  each  year,  and 
there  would  be  many  millions  to  spare. 

Moreover,  we  sell  to  other  countries  goods  worth  about 
as  much  as  the  merchandise  we  buy  of  them,  so  that  it 
takes  a  great  fleet  of  vessels  to  carry  our  goods  abroad  and 
to  bring  foreign  goods  back  to  us.  Over  three  thousand 
steamships  annually  come  from  foreign  countries  to  the 
wharves  of  New  York,  and  there  are  in  addition  thousands 
>of  sailing  vessels.  A  procession  of  steamers  is  always  moving 
fback  and  forth  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  carrying  our 
wares  to  the  people  of  Europe  and  bringing  their  wares  t» 
us. 

A  large  part  of  all  we  sell  abroad  is  produced  on  our  farms. 
We  raise  so  much  more  than  we  can  use  that  the  United 
States  has  become  a  great  country  store  for  the  European 
nations.  Every  year  hundreds  of  ships  laden  with  grain 
sail  out  of  New  York.  The  steamers  have  their  holds  filled 


86  NORTH  AMERICA 

with  grain  in  bulk,  and  between  the  decks  the  wheat  is 
piled  up  in  bags.  Such  vessels  are  loaded  quickly,  half  a 
million  bushels  of  grain  being  often  packed  away  in  a  ship 
in  one  hour.  Great  quantities  of  meat  and  other  provisions 
are  sent  abroad  every  week,  and  live  cattle  also  are  carried 
across  the  Atlantic  to  be  killed  there  for  the  markets. 

The  people  of  most  other  countries  send  to  our  great 
store  for  a  part  of  the  oil  which  they  use  in  their  lamps. 
Our  petroleum  is  shipped  from  New  York,  Baltimore, 
Philadelphia,  and  other  places  in  tank  steamers,  a  single 
one  of  which  will  hold  thirty  thousand  barrels  of  oil.  The 
steamer  is  divided  into  a  half-dozen  or  more  huge  tanks. 
The  oil  is  pumped  into  the  tanks,  and  it  remains  there  in 
bulk  until  it  is  again  pumped  out  upon  the  wharves  of  the 
great  ports  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa. 

It  is  in  vessels  of  the  same  kind  that  molasses  is  brought 
to  the  United  States  from  Cuba.  Think  of  the  biggest 
house  you  have  ever  seen  as  one  solid  box,  and  let  it  be 
filled  with  molasses,  and  you  may  get  some  idea  of  the 
sweetness  that,  protected  only  by  a  thin  sheet  of  steel,  is 
thus  carried  through  the  salt  waters  of  the  ocean. 

While  at  the  wharves  we  visit  ships  loaded  with  cotton. 
This  comes  from  the  plantations  of  our  southern  states  and 
is  carried  in  bales  to  Europe  and  Asia  to  be  made  into  cloth. 
We  get  more  than  twice  as  much  every  year  from  the  raw 
cotton  we  sell  to  other  countries  as  from  our  sales  of  wheat 
and  flour.  Cotton  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the  most  valuable  of 
all  the  articles  that  the  rest  of  the  world  buys  from  our 
store.  We  sell  more  than  half  of  all  we  produce,  and  some- 
times get  as  much  as  eight  hundred  million  dollars  for  our 
foreign  exports  of  cotton.  We  sell  also  great  quantities  of 
manufactures  of  various  kinds,  and  such  exports  increase 
every  year. 


OUR   FOREIGN   COMMERCE  87 

Our  chief  trade  is  with  Europe,  but  we  are  sending  more 
and  more  to  Asia,  South  America,  Australia,  and  Africa, 
and  to  our  cousins  of  the  Hawaiian  and  Philippine  Islands. 
The  English  are  our  best  customers.  They  buy  a  vast  deal 
of  our  raw  cotton,  breadstuffs,  and  meats,  for  which  they 
pay  several  times  as  much  as  we  pay  for  the  manufactured 
articles  they  sell  to  us. 

The  fastest  steamers  of  the  world  come  from  England  to 
New  York.  Some  vessels  now  cross  the  Atlantic  in  less 
than  five  days,  traveling  so  swiftly  that  they  have  been 
called  ocean  greyhounds.  We  visit  one  of  these  steamers, 
the  Berengaria,  which  has  just  come  from  Liverpool.  It  is 
a  great  floating  house  of  a  half-dozen  stories,  so  long  that 
it  would  reach  the  length  of  two  average  city  blocks,  filling 
the  street  and  extending  high  over  most  of  the  houses.  If 
stood  upon  end  it  would  reach  above  the  top  of  the  tallest 
building  of  New  York,  which  is  over  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  high  (page  88) .  The  ship  has  large  dining  rooms, 
sitting  rooms,  bedrooms,  and  bathrooms,  and  we  see  that 
people  can  now  live  quite  as  well  upon  the  water  as  upon 
the  land.  We  look  at  the  enormous  engines,  as  strong  as 
fifty  thousand  horses,  which  drive  the  huge  ship  through 
the  water,  and  are  surprised  when  told  that  its  furnaces 
eat  every  day  as  much  coal  as  would  heat  fifty  large 
dwelling  houses  for  a  whole  year. 

Away  down  in  the  lower  part  of  the  ship  we  find  some 
large  rooms  not  so  well  furnished.  This  is  the  steerage.  It 
is  full  of  immigrants  who  have  come  across  the  Atlantic 
from  Europe.  Such  people  are  not  landed  at  this  wharf. 
They  will  be  carried  to  Ellis  Island,  in  the  harbor,  where 
the  officers  of  the  Immigration  Bureau  will  examine  each 
one  to  know  whether  he  is  likely  to  make  a  good  citizen  of 
the  United  States.  We  are  glad  to  have  people  from  all 

CARP.    N.    AMER. 6 


The  length  of  the  Berengaria  as  compared  with  New  York's 
tallest  building,  which  is  over  750  feet  high. 


OUR   FOREIGN   COMMERCE  89 

parts  of  the  world  to  settle  in  our  country  and  aid  in  devel- 
oping it;  but  we  do  not  wish  any  who  are  diseased  or 
unable  to  work  and  hence  likely  to  go  into  the  poorhouses  to  • 
live.  Therefore  our  government  has  provided  that  all 
immigrants  coming  to  this  country  must  be  examined 
before  they  can  land.  If  they  have  no  money  at  all,  or  are 
idiots,  insane,  or  diseased,  or  have  been  convicted  of  stealing) 
or  certain  other  crimes,  they  are  sent  back  to  the  countries 
whence  they  came. 

For  years  the  poor  people  from  all  parts  of  Europe  have 
been  coming  to  America,  because  they  can  make  more 
money  and  live  better  here  than  at  home.  Since  1820  it  is 
estimated  that  about  thirty-three  million  immigrants  have 
arrived  on  our  shores,  and  now  nearly  half  of  our  inhabitants 
were  either  born  in  other  countries  or  are  the  children  of  peo- 
ple born  there.  Many  of  the  immigrants  stay  in  New  York. 
It  has  more  Jews  than  any  other  city  in  the  world.  It  has 
more  Irish  than  any  city  in  Ireland.  It  has  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  Germans  and  Italians  and  people  from  Russia. 

We  visit  Ellis  Island,  where  these  immigrants  land. 
Here  we  find  ourselves  surrounded  by  hundreds  of  odd- 
looking  men,  women,  and  children.  Very  few  of  the  women 
wear  hats,  and  the  men  have  caps  or  queerly  shaped  hats. 
There  are  many  English  and  Irish,  and  a  large  number* 
of  Germans.  There  are  dark-faced  Italians,  and  long- 
bearded  Jews  from  Russia  and  Poland.  There  are  fair- 
skinned  people  from  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  sturdy  boys 
and  girls  from  Holland,  some  of  whom  wear  wooden  shoes. 
Everybody  has  his  baggage  with  him,  and  some  sit  on 
piles  of  bedding  which  they  have  brought  from  their  homes. 
They  seem  strangely  out  of  place;  but  as  we  look  at  them 
we  realize  that  they  are  strong  and  able  to  work,  and  that 
they  may  make  good  American  citizens. 


go 


OUR   FOREIGN    COMMERCE  91 

We  take  a  boat  and  sail  over  to  Bedloes  Island  to  see  the 
statue  of  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World.  It  is  as  high  as  a 
tall  church  steeple.  We  get  some  idea  of  its  size  when  we 
learn  that  forty  men  have  stood  inside  its  head  at  one  time, 


The  statue  of  Liberty,  seen  from  Ellis  Island. 


and  that  its  forefinger  is  so  long  that  it  would  reach  from 
the  floor  to  the  ceiling  of  an  average  room,  and  so  big  around 
that  the  hoop  of  a  flour  barrel  would  just  about  fit  it  if  used 
as  a  ring. 

As  we  leave  the  statue  and  go  back  to  Manhattan  we 
have  a  fine  view  of  the  Brooklyn  Bridge,  the  oldest  of  the 
bridges  which  unite  Brooklyn  with  Manhattan  Island. 
(This  bridge  is  in  the  foreground  on  page  74.)  It  is  an 
immense  structure  of  stone  and  steel,  more  than  a  mile  long, 


92  NORTH  AMERICA 

crossing  the  East  River.  It  cost  more  than  the  Capitol  at 
Washington.  Connecting  Manhattan  with  Long  Island 
and  with  the  mainland  are  many  other  bridges,  upon 
which  have  been  spent  all  together  about  one  hundred 
million  dollars.  In  addition  there  are  sixteen  great  tubes 
under  the  rivers,  so  travel  is  made  easy  between  the  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  city.  There  is  also  a  steel-arch  bridge 
which  connects  the  city  with  a  great  trunk  line  to  New 
^England,  and  the  trains  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  can 
'now  go  from  Washington  to  Boston  without  transferring 
the  cars  or  the  passengers.  This  bridge  carries  four  railroad 
tracks  and  is  the  heaviest  and  longest  arch  in  the  world ;  it 
cost  about  fifteen  million  dollars. 

During  our  stay  in  New  York  we  ride  up  Fifth  Avenue 
on  the  top  of  a  motor  bus.  This  takes  us  through  the  great 
retail  shopping  center,  and  past  mile  after  mile  of  magnif- 
icent stores.  The  way  is  thronged  with  automobiles,  two 
continuous  streams,  each  two  or  three  cars  wide,  flowing  on 
the  two  sides  of  the  street. 

We  take  motor  cars  to  see  some  of  the  many  other 
wonders  of  the  city.  We  visit  the  Public  Library,  which 
has  more  than  two  million  volumes,  and  fine  collections  of 
paintings  and  prints.  We  spend  some  time  in  the  Metro- 
politan Museum  of  Art,  where  are  many  of  the  great  paint- 
ings, statues,  and  other  examples  of  art  in  the  United 
States;  and  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
we  find  wonderful  collections  of  stuffed  animals  and  birds, 
insects,  minerals,  and  other  things  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  We  ride  up  Riverside  Drive,  and  see  the  tomb  of 
General  Grant  overlooking  the  Hudson. 

Some  of  our  evenings  are  spent  at  the  theaters,  of  which 
New  York  has  several  scores,  or  in  visiting  the  great  moving 
picture  houses,  which  are  attended  by  hundreds  of  thou- 


Fifth  Avenue  in  front  of  the  Public  Library.    Traffic  is  controlled  by 
colored  lights  in  the  little  tower  in  the  middle  of  the  avenue. 

93 


94  NORTH  AMERICA 

sands  of  people  every  night.  We  are  interested  also  in  the 
churches,  of  which  there  are  so  many  that  one  could  go  to 
two  different  churches  every  Sunday  throughout  the  year 
and  then  not  visit  them  all.  They  represent  almost  every 
religion,  and  among  them  are  the  largest  churches  in  the 
United  States,  namely,  Saint  Patrick's  Cathedral  and  the 
Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine. 

We  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  in  Central  Park.  We 
watch  the  boys  and  girls  of  New  York  at  play,  and  take 
a  ride  in  the  boats  on  the  lake.  We  look  at  the  Obelisk 
from  far-away  Egypt  and  photograph  some  of  the  many 
statues,  including  those  of  Shakespeare,  Robert  Burns, 
and  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

At  Bronx  Park  we  visit  the  Zoological  Garden,  one  of 
the  largest  in  the  world,  where  there  are  hundreds  of  ani- 
mals, birds,  and  reptiles.  We  walk  about  through  the 
Botanical  Gardens,  where  are  growing  thousands  of 
different  kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs  and  flowers. 

At  the  old  Polo  Grounds  in  Manhattan,  many  world- 
championship  baseball  games  have  been  played.  In 
Brooklyn  there  is  another  great  baseball  field,  and  the 
beautiful  Prospect  Park;  but  we  have  not  time  to  visit 
them  now.  We  go  back  to  our  hotel  to  spend  the  night 
and  then  take  taxicabs  for  the  Grand  Central  Railway 
Station,  where  a  train  drawn  by  two  electric  locomotives 
is  ready  to  start  for  New  England. 

1.  Locate  New  York.    How  far  is  it  from  San  Francisco?    From 
New  Orleans?    From  Boston?    From  Chicago?    What  is  the  distance 
from  New  York  to  Cape  Town?     (See  table,  page  496.)     To  Colon, 
on  the  Panama  Canal?     To  Port  Said,  on  the  Suez   Canal?     To 
Liverpool?     To  Yokohama?    Take  a  trip  to  each  of  these  places, 
showing  the  route  you  would  travel.    At  fifteen  miles  per  hour  by 
ship  how  long  would  you  be  on  the  way? 

2.  Start  at  your  home  and  make  a  trip  to  New  York.     What  rail- 


NEW  ENGLAND  95 

ways  do  you  take?    Through  what  important  cities  do  you  pass? 
At  thirty  miles  per  hour,  how  long  would  your  trip  take? 

3.  What  is  the  population  of  your  home  locality?    How  many  such 
places  would  equal  New  York?     Compare  New  York  in  size  with 
London,  and  with  the  three  other  largest  cities  of  Europe.    With  the 
two  largest  cities  of  South  America.    With  ten  of  the  largest  cities 
of  the  United  States,  giving  the  distances  of  each  from  New  York. 
With  the  two  largest  cities  of  Asia. 

4.  What  advantages  has  New  York  as  a  commercial  center?    By 
its  sea  routes?    By  its  land  routes?    What  valley  makes  it  the  easiest 
gateway  to  the  interior  of  the  United  States? 

5.  Why  has  New  York  become  our  largest  manufacturing  city? 
What  proportion  of  our  manufactures  does  it  make?    Ask  one  of  your 
merchants  how  many  kinds  of  goods  he  gets  from  New  York. 

6.  Trace  a  shipment  of  raw  silk  from  Yokohama  to  New  York.    Of 
tea  from  Shanghai.     Of  coffee  from  Rio  de  Janeiro.    Of  wool  from 
Melbourne,  Australia.    Of  sugar  from  Havana,  Cuba. 

7.  Who  founded  New  York?     What  price  was  paid  the  Indians 
for  the  land?    What  was  the  first  name  of  the  city? 

8.  Why  do  so  many  of  our  immigrants  come  to  New  York?    Is  it 
a  good  thing  for  our  country  to  have  immigrants?    From  what  land 
did  your  forefathers  come? 

9.  How  high  is  the  house  in  which  you  live?    How  many  such 
buildings,  one  on  top  of  another,  would  equal  the  height  of  the  tallest 
building  in  New  York? 

10.  Describe  your  visit  to  the  city,  mentioning  the  things  which 
have  been  most  interesting  to  you. 


XII.     NEW  ENGLAND— COMMERCE  AND 
MANUFACTURES 

NEW  England  is  the  name  often  used  for  the  north- 
eastern portion   of   the   United   States,   comprising 
Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Connecticut,  six  of  the  smaller  states  of  our 


Lonsritude        72  West  from          70  Grwnwlcb  68 


NEW  EXGLAXD 
STATES 

SCALE  OF  MILES 


NEW  ENGLAND  97 

Union.  All  together  it  contains  only  about  sixty-seven 
thousand  square  miles.  It  is  not  so  big  as  Missouri,  and 
is  less  than  one  fourth  as  large  as  Texas. 

The  shores  of  New  England  were  visited  by  John  Cabot 
and  other  explorers  not  long  after  Columbus  found  the 
New  World.  Captain  John  Smith  sailed  along  them,  made 
a  rough  map  of  the  coast  in  1614,  and  named  the  region 
New  England.  Before  that  it  had  been  called  North  Vir- 
ginia. 

The  soil  of  New  England  is  such  that  many  of  its  people 
can  make  more  money  in  other  ways  than  by  farming. 
A  large  part  of  the  land  is  mountains.  The  Appalachian 
Highlands  extend  through  it,  and  the  only  very  fertile  spots 
are  to  be  found  in  the  valleys  of  the  rivers,  and  in  the 
narrow  strip  of  Atlantic  plain  which  runs  along  the  coast. 
Much  of  Maine  is  covered  with  forests  and  lakes,  and  some 
of  the  land  in  other  New  England  states  is  so  stony  that 
it  can  be  used  only  for  the  rearing  of  cattle  and  sheep. 
More  than  half  the  food  consumed  in  this  part  of  our 
country  comes  from  the  Mississippi  valley.  The  New 
England  winters  are  long  and  cold,  and  the  ground  is 
often  covered  with  snow  for  months  at  a  time. 

One  might  think  that  this  would  be  one  of  the  poorest 
parts  of  the  United  States,  that  few  people  could  live 
there,  and  that  those  who  manage  to  exist  would  have 
very  little  wealth  indeed.  But  the  truth  is  that  New  Eng- 
land has  very  great  wealth  and  the  southern  portion  of  it 
is  the  most  thickly  settled  part  of  our  country.  There  is 
no  other  state  with  so  many  inhabitants  in  proportion 
to  its  size  as  Rhode  Island.  Connecticut  and  Massachu- 
setts have  hundreds  of  cities  and  villages.  There  are  few 
other  places  in  the  world  where  men  live  so  well.  The  New 
Englanders  have  more  wealth  than  the  people  of  any 


NEW  ENGLAND  99 

other  section  of  the  same  size  in  the  United  States;  and 
Massachusetts  alone  has  enough  to  buy  some  of  the  western 
states  that  are  ten  times  its  size. 

How  does  this  come  to  pass?  New  England  has  only, 
three  small  navigable  rivers,  although  it  has  many  good 
harbors  giving  all  parts  of  it  easy  access  to  the  sea.  It  has 
no  gold,  silver,  or  iron  mines,  and  no  large  coal  fields  like 
'Pennsylvania.  The  secret  lies  partly  in  the  large  number 
.•and  peculiar  character  of  the  New  England  rivers.  Each 
has  a  nearly  constant  flow  of  water,  a  rapid  fall,  and  a 
narrow  valley,  conditions  which  make  its  water  power 
easily  available.  Since  they  began  to  flow,  the  land  has 
sunk  a  little,  and  allowed  the  sea  to  invade  their  mouths, 
so  that  each  stream  flows  into  a  deep  tidal  inlet  which  makes 
a  good  harbor.  To  this  must  be  added  the  position  of 
New  England  directly  opposite  the  shores  of  Europe, 
and  nearer  to  them  than  any  other  part  of  the  United 
States.  The  sturdy,  enterprising,  and  thrifty  people  who 
settled  New  England  were  not  slow  to  avail  themselves 
of  these  ideal  conditions  for  manufacture  and  commerce. 

Water  power  is  the  cheapest  of  all  powers.  It  is  used  to 
generate  electricity,  and  a  great  part  of  our  manufacturing 
is  done  by  it.  One  little  stream  will  often  do  the  work  of 
a  hundred  horses.  Indeed,  it  is  estimated  that  we  have  st> 
.much  water  power  in  our  country  that  if  we  used  the  whole 
of  it,  it  would  be  stronger  than  several  hundred  million 
horses  all  pulling  at  once. 

The  New  England  states  have  rivers  and  streams  which 
might  furnish  a  half  million  horsepower,  and  it  has  a  large 
part  of  this  water  power  already  at  work.  To  do  one 
horsepower  of  work  for  one  year  by  a  steam  engine  requires 
about  ten  tons  of  coal,  so  that  the  half  million  horsepower, 
which  New  England  might  generate  by  water,  is  equal  to 


100 


NEW  ENGLAND   MANUFACTURES  101 

five  million  tons  of  coal  every  year.  New  England  has 
no  black  coal,  but  this  white  coal  comes  from  a  mine  that 
will  never  give  out.  It  is  like  the  magic  pitcher  of  the 
fairy  tale.  You  may  drink  the  contents,  but  the  pitcher 
fills  up  as  fast  as  you  can  swallow. 

When  the  people  of  New  England  learned  that  it  was 
hard  to  get  a  living  from  the  soil,  they  began  to  manufacture 
and  soon  found  they  could  earn  more  money  in  that  way 
than  by  farming.  They  became  so  skillful  that  they  could 
make  goods  cheaply  and  well.  As  our  country  grew  they 
built  more  and  more  factories.  They  began  to  use  their 
waterfalls  and  they  found  also  that  they  could  bring  in 
coal  from  Pennsylvania  at  low  cost,  so  that  now  in  most 
parts  of  New  England  there  are  factories  operated  by 
steam,  in  addition  to  those  run  by  water. 

It  is  wonderful  how  many  things  come  from  New  Eng- 
land. Nearly  every  one  of  us  has  now  in  use  one  or  more 
of  its  products.  Many  kinds  of  cotton  goods  are  made 
here,  and  we  may  visit  huge  mills  which  are  weaving 
ginghams,  muslins,  calicoes,  and  other  dress  goods  from 
the  raw  cotton  of  our  southern  states.  In  other  places 
mills  are  making  sheets,  towels,  and  handkerchiefs,  as  well 
as  yarn  and  thread  and  underwear  of  various  kinds.  The 
cotton  is  brought  in  great  bales  of  five  hundred  pounds 
each  upon  ships  from  Galveston,  New  Orleans,  and  other 
parts  of  the  South.  By  machinery  it  is  spun  into  thread 
and  woven  into  cloth. 

The  power  of  the  Merrimac,  the  Connecticut,  and 
other  rivers  applied  to  such  weaving  and  other  manufac- 
turing has  built  up  many  cities,  such  as  Nashua  and  Man- 
chester in  New  Hampshire;  Fall  River,  New  Bedford, 
Lowell,  and  Lawrence  in  Massachusetts;  and  Pawtucket 
and  Providence  in  Rhode  Island.  These  cities  are  devoted 


102  NORTH  AMERICA 

largely  to  making  cottons.  Manchester  weaves  sixty 
miles  of  cloth  an  hour,  five  hundred  miles  a  day,  and  about 
•ne  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  miles  in  one  year.  This 
would  be  enough  to  carpet  a  wide  road  running  clear 
around  the  world  at  the  equator.  Fall  River  and  New 
Bedford,  in  Massachusetts,  weave  more  cotton  cloth  than 
any  other  places  in  the  United  States.  There  are  more*J 
than  three  million  spindles  in  the  New  Bedford  mills,  and 
more  than  four  million  in  the  Fall  River  mills.  Fall  River 
has  thirty-five  thousand  workers  in  its  cotton  mills. 

There  are  also  many  cotton  mills  in  the  South,  and  huge 
factories  are  now  working  close  to  the  plantations  on 
which  the  cotton  is  grown. 

More  than  half  of  the  woolens  of  the  United  States  are 
made  in  New  England,  ancl  those  annually  woven  in 
Massachusetts  alone  would  equal  a  strip  a  yard  wide  and 
long  enough  to  go  more  than  two  and  one  half  times  around 
the  world  at  the  equator.  Some  of  the  largest  mills  are 
at  Lawrence  on  the  Merrimac  River.  The  first  woolen 
mill  of  America  was  started  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
and  when  George  Washington  was  inaugurated  President 
he  wore  a  suit  made  of  cloth  woven  in  that  mill. 

So  many  of  our  boots  and  shoes  are  manufactured  in 
Massachusetts  that  tens  of  millions  of  our  people  may 
be  said  to  have  a  part  of  that  state  under  their  feet.  Two 
eut  of  every  five  Americans  are  shod  with  Massachusetts 
leather.  The  city  of  Brockton  is  famous  for  men's  shoes, 
Lynn  for  women's  shoes,  and  Haverhill  (ha/  ver-il)  for 
slippers.  Brockton  makes  twenty  million  pairs  of  shoes 
in  one  year.  Most  of  our  army  shoes  for  the  World  War 
were  made  in  New  England,  where  one  single  factory 
turned  out  fifty  thousand  pairs  in  one  day. 

Connecticut  not  only  tells  us  when  to  get  up  in  the 


NEW  ENGLAND   MANUFACTURES  103 

morning,  for  it  makes  most  of  our  clocks,  but  it  also 
helps  us  to  dress,  for  its  factories  produce  tons  of  buttons, 
millions  upon  millions  of  hooks  and  eyes,  and  most  of  the 
pins  that  fasten  our  clothes.  Waterbury  in  that  state  is 
the  center  of  our  brass  goods  industries,  and  Meriden  is 
called  the  silver  city  because  it  makes  plated  ware.  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  has  two  hundred  jewelry  factories, 
and  Winchenden,  Massachusetts,  is  called  the  Toy  Town, 
because  its  people  are  busy  making  toys  of  all  kinds. 
Beside  the  railway  station  is  a  huge  wooden  hobby  horse, 
which  has  been  erected  as  a  sign  of  the  industry. 

Massachusetts  has  some  of  the  biggest  paper  mills  of 
the  United  States.  Holyoke  turns  out  two  hundred  tons 
of  fine  paper  daily,  and  at  Dalton  in  the  Berkshire  Hills 
the  paper  for  our  bank  notes  and  government  bonds  is 
made.  This  paper  is  carefully  guarded  that  it  may  not 
get  into  the  hands  of  counterfeiters,  and  men  with  rifles  in 
their  hands  stand  at  the  doors  to  keep  out  visitors. 

It  is  in  this  region  that  We  can  learn  all  about  watches. 
Southern  New  England  has  hundreds  of  men  and  women 
working  on  such  timepieces.  The  simplest  watches  have 
only  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  parts,  and  the  more 
expensive  ones  several  times  that  number.  We  are  sur- 
prised at  the  care  with  which  every  part  has  to  be  made. 
As  we  go  through  the  factories  we  see  that  the  power  from 
.steam  and  water  do  only  a  small  part  of  the  work.  Many 
men  and  women  are  required  to  run  the  machines  and  to 
perform  certain  other  kinds  of  labor.  Some  of  the  steel 
screws  of  a  watch  look  like  grains  of  sand;  they  are  so 
minute  that  it  would  take  fifty  thousand  of  them  to  fill 
an  ordinary  thimble. 

We  are  shown  hair  springs  which  require  so  much  labor 
that  five  dollars'  worth  of  steel  wire  after  being  made  into 


104 


NORTH  AMERICA 


them  is  worth  fifty  thousand  dollars.    By  this  you  can  see 
how  manufacturing  supports  a  very  large  population. 

Another  source  of  New  England's  wealth  is  its  commerce. 
If  you  will  look  at  the  coast  of  Maine,  you  will  see  that  it 
runs  in  and  out  almost  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw.  It  is  called 

the  "State  of  One  Hundred  Har- 
bors." There  are  fine  harbors  in 
Massachusetts,  and  good  landing 
places  for  ships  all  along  the  south 
coast  of  New  England  almost  to 
New  York. 

What  industries  do  you  think 
would  be  carried  on  along  such 
a  coast? 

There  would  be  much  ship- 
ping and  many  sailors.  The  boys, 
hearing  the  sea  captains  tell  their 
adventures,  would  want  to  go 
to  sea  and  become  captains  too. 
Well,  this  is  just  what  has  hap- 
pened. There  are  more  than 
twelve  thousand  Maine  men  who 
are  sailors,  and  many  New  Eng- 
landers  are  to  be  found  in  the 
navy.  During  my  travels  in  Asia 
I  found  a  Massachusetts  sea  cap- 
tain commanding  a  steamer  on  a 
Chinese  river,  and  there  are  New 
England  sailing  vessels  every- 
where. This  part  of  our  country 
has  a  large  foreign  commeS;tk. 


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fflifl 
If  II « 

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if  fin 

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Illlli 
HUH 

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if  it  ii 
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Customhouse,  Boston. 


Boston  has  forty  miles  of  water  front,  and  ships  from  all 
over  the  world.    A  great  quantity  of  our  goods  are  exported 


NEW  ENGLAND   COMMERCE  105 

to  Europe  and  other  countries  through  that  port,  and 
others  of  New  England.  The  other  chief  seaports  are 
Portland,  Maine;  Bridgeport,  Connecticut;  and  Provi- 
dence, Rhode  Island,  all  of  which  have  excellent  harbors. 
Many  of  our  battleships,  destroyers,  and  merchant  vessels 
are  made  at  Fore  River,  near  Boston. 

New  England  is  covered  with  steam  railroads,  electric 
trolleys,  and  good  roads  for  tractors  and  automobiles. 
The  chief  railway  system  is  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and 
Hartford,  extending  from  Boston  to  the  west  and  south. 
The  Boston  and  Albany,  and  the  Boston  and  Maine,  ex- 
tend from  the  city  to  the  west  and  north.  On  the  railroad 
which  crosses  the  Hoosac  Mountains,  there  is  a  tunnel  five 
miles  long,  which  aids  in  bringing  Boston  into  direct  com- 
munication with  Chicago  and  the  Mississippi  valley.  It 
enables  much  of  our  wheat  and  other  products  to  be  sent 
to  Boston  for  export  to  Europe.  The  railroads  of  southern 
New  England  cover  the  country  like  a  net,  and  an  endless 
procession  of  freight  trains  passes  over  them  carrying 
goods  to  the  many  harbors  along  the  coast. 

Have  you  ever  thought  what  a  large  part  commerce  has 
in  our  daily  life?  It  has  to  do  with  every  meal  that  we  eat. 
At  our  hotel  in  New  York  we  sat  down  to  dinner  before  a 
mahogany  table  made  from  trees  grown  in  the  West  Indies. 
Our  tablecloth  was  woven  from  Irish  flax,  and  our  knives 
were  of  steel  made  of  iron  which  was  dug  from  the  mines  of 
Lake  Superior,  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  westward.  We 
drank  coffee  which  had  been  imported  from  Brazil,  and 
the  sugar  we  put  into  it  came  from  the  cane  fields  of  Cuba 
or  Louisiana.  Some  of  us  drank  chocolate,  made  of  cacao 
beans  shipped  from  South  America  to  Boston,  and  ground 
up  in  a  factory  near  by.  We  had  a  splendid  cut  of  roast 
beef  which  six  months  ago  was  part  of  an  animal  galloping 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 7 


to6  NORTH  AMERICA 

madly  over  some  western  prairie  with  a  cowboy  behind  him. 
We  sprinkled  it  with  salt  from  the  salt  wells  of  Michigan, 
and  seasoned  it  with  pepper  from  the  island  of  Singapore, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  world.  Our  bread  was  of  wheat, 
ground  into  flour  at  Minneapolis,  and  brought  down  the 
Great  Lakes  to  be  used  in  New  York.  The  mince  pie  for 
dessert  was  filled  with  currants  from  Greece,  while  the 
three-cornered  nuts  with  which  we  finished  our  meal  were 
shaken  from  trees  in  the  forests  of  the  Amazon  valley. 

We  thus  see  how  commerce  and  manufactures  every- 
where go  hand  in  hand.  The  factories  of  New  England  use 
enormous  quantities  of  material  which  is  brought  here  by 
ships  from  Asia,  Europe,  and  South  America,  and  we  can 
find  things  from  other  parts  of  the  world  in  almost  every 
factory. 

Let  us  visit  one  of  the  shoemaking  establishments  of 
Lynn,  Massachusetts.  Some  of  the  leather  was  imported 
from  Russia;  some  of  it  came  to  Boston  in  the  shape  of 
hides  from  the  cattle  of  the  South  American  pampas,  and 
some  from  those  on  the  plains  of  Texas.  We  see  skins  which 
have  just  arrived  from  France,  Germany,  or  England,  and 
others  which  were  shipped  from  India,  China,  or  the  penin- 
sula of  Korea. 

It  is  in  turning  the  skins  into  leather  that  manufacture 
first  joins  hands  with  commerce.  The  skins,  when  they 
land  in  New  England,  are  much  as  they  were  when  they 
came  from  the  backs  of  the  animals.  They  have  to  be 
tanned  before  they  can  be  used.  New  England  has  over 
one  thousand  tanneries,  where  the  skins  are  soaked  for  a 
long  tune  in  vats  of  water  filled  with  tan  bark  brought 
from  the  forest  regions  of  our  country;  or  else  subjected  to 
the  chrome  process  of  tanning,  where  the  skins  are  soaked 
in  mineral  and  oil  solutions.  The  latter  process  is  used 


NEW  ENGLAND   MANUFACTURES 


107 


largely  for  shoe  leather.  Next  the  skins  are  scoured  and 
dried,  then  greased  in  order  to  make  them  soft,  and  then 
covered  with  blacking,  so  that  a  single  skin  has  to  be 
handled  many  times  before  it  is  ready  to  be  made  into 
shoes.  The  nails,  buttons,  and  strings  used  in  shoemaking 
are  made  in  separate  factories  and  from  materials  which 
come  from  different  localities. 

By  machinery  and  by  working  together  men  can  produce 
things  more  quickly  and  at  a  much  less  cost  than  when  one 
man  does  all  the  work  with  his  hands.  In  the  shoe  shops  of 


Hand  finishing  department  in  a  New  England  shoe  factory. 

our  forefathers  one  man  made  the  whole  shoe,  and  he 
probably  thought  he  was  doing  well  if  he  turned  out  a 
shoe  in  a  day.  There  are  machines  in  the  shops  of  Lynn 
that  will  sew  six  hundred  pairs  of  shoes  every  eight  hours, 


io8  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  some  that  will  put  pegs  into  the  soles  at  the  rate  of 
nine  hundred  a  minute.  We  find  that  each  part  of  the  shoe 
is  made  by  a  different  machine,  and  that  one  man  works 
upon  certain  parts  only. 

All  kinds  of  manufacturing  are  now  done  in  this  way. 
It  takes  many,  many  men  to  produce  one  piece  of  cloth; 
and  if  we  should  go  to  Bridgeport  or  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
or  to  Providence  or  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  or  to  Spring- 
field, Massachusetts,  where  there  are  large  firearms  fac- 
tories, we  might  see  guns  which  have  many  parts,  each 
part  made  by  a  different  man.  Many  of  the  rifles,  machine 
guns,  automatic  pistols,  and  other  weapons  used  by  our 
soldiers  in  the  World  War  were  made  in  New  England. 

1.  Bound  New  England.    What  country  lies  on  the  north?    What 
state  on  the  west?    What  New  England  states  border  the  Atlantic 
Ocean? 

2.  Name  the  New  England  states.    Compare  each  state  with  one 
other  state  of  the  Union.    Compare  the  size  of  your  state  with  each 
of  the  New  England  states.     (See  page  492.)    Find  the  area  of  New 
England.    What  states  of  the  Union  exceed  it  in  size?    Which  New 
England  state  has  the  largest  population?    Why? 

3.  Who  visited  the  coast  of  New  England  before  1500?   Who  was 
John  Smith? 

4.  Name  the  five  chief  rivers  of  New  England.    Why  do  they  fur- 
nish so  much  electric  power?    What  are  the  advantages  of  water 
power?    How  much  such  power  has  New  England?     Compare  its 
water  power  with  that  of  the  United  States.    With  Canada.    With 
several  countries  of  Europe.    (See  table,  page  495.) 

5.  Mention  some  New  England  cities  which  make  cotton  cloth. 
Some  which  weave  wool.    Some  which  make  shoes.    Write  a  story  ol 
a  cotton  dress.    Of  a  woolen  blanket.     (For  further  information  as 
to  each  of  these,  see  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Clothed.") 

6.  From  what  town  does  the  paper  for  our  bank  notes  come?    Why 
is  it  important  to  guard   the   factory  where  that  paper  is  made? 
What  town  is  devoted  to  toys?     Name  some  places  where  guns  are 
made;  ships. 


NEW   ENGLAND   MOUNTAINS  AND   LAKES        109 

7.  Why  has  New  England  become  a  great  manufacturing  center? 
A  great  commercial  center?  Name  the  three  principal  railway  sys- 
tems. Show  the  part  commerce  has  in  our  daily  life. 


XIII.  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS  AND  LAKES  OF 
NEW  ENGLAND 

WE  shall  spend  a  part  of  to-day  among  the  mountains 
of  New  England.  The  Appalachians,  which  begin 
in  northern  Alabama  and  form  the  eastern  rim  of  the 
Mississippi  and  St.  Lawrence  basins,  extend  northward 
through  New  England  into  Canada.  They  are  made  up  of 
many  parallel  ranges,  which,  with  their  valleys,  occupy  a 
space  about  one  hundred  miles  wide.  The  highest  eleva- 
tions are  to  be  found  in  North  Carolina,  but  the  most 
picturesque  parts  are  in  New  England.  The  White  Moun- 
tain region  of  New  Hampshire  is  so  beautiful  that  it  has 
been  called  the  Switzerland  of  America. 

The  highest  of  the  White  Mountains  is  Mount  Washing- 
ton. We  can  go  in  an  ordinary  train  to  the  foot  of  this 
mountain,  and  from  there  to  its  summit  over  one  of  the 
oddest  railroads  in  the  world.  The  mountain  is  more  than  a 
mile  high,  and  this  railroad  goes  right  up  to  its  top.  The; 
track  is  so  steep  that  it  looks  more  like  a  ladder  than  a  rail- 
road, and  the  cars  at  times  are  at  such  an  angle  that  one 
might  think  they  would  slide  to  the  bottom. 

This  is  prevented  by  an  interesting  device.  The  track 
has  three  rails  instead  of  two,  and  the  rail  in  the  center 
consists  of  two  bars  of  iron,  with  connecting  crosspieces 
placed  four  inches  apart  throughout  its  whole  length.  The 
little  locomotive  has  wheels  which  rest  on  the  outer  rails, 
and  also  a  wheel  with  cogs  which  fit  into  this  central  rail, 


no 


NEW   ENGLAND  MOUNTAINS  AND  LAKES        in 

the  cogs  moving  upon  the  crosspieces.  The  car  in  which  we 
ride  is  in  front  of  the  engine,  and  the  engine  pushes  rather 
than  pulls  us  upward  into  the  clouds. 

Upon  fine  days,  such  as  the  one  we  have  for  our  journey, 
the  car  windows  are  open,  so  that  we  can  see  almost  as 
well  as  if  we  were  in  an  automobile.  We  sit  with  our  backs 
to  the  summit,  looking  down  the  mountain;  and  as  we  rise' 
we  behold  masses  of  cloud  nestling  in  the  hills  below  us. 
Nearer  the  top  we  pass  through  volumes  of  mist,  and  at 
the  summit  are  enveloped  in  clouds. 

At  last  the  sun  clears  the  sky,  and  we  enjoy  the  mag- 
nificent views  to  be  had  all  about  us.  We  can  see  the 
other  mountains  of  the  Presidential  Range.  There  are 
Mount  Adams,  Mount  Jefferson,  and  Mount  Madison,  all 
of  which  are  more  than  a  mile  high;  and  near  them  are 
lesser  mountains,  named  after  Presidents  Monroe  and 
Jackson.  From  the  summit  we  get  a  peep  into  Canada,  and 
away  off  in  the  distance  lies  Mount  Katahdin  in  Maine. 

Indeed,  New  England  is  one  of  the  chief  playgrounds  of 
our  country.  In  Maine  alone  there  are  more  than  ten 
million  acres  of  wild  forest  in  which  to  hunt,  and  two 
thousand  fresh  water  lakes  where  one  can  fish.  New 
Hampshire  has  more  than  half  a  million  acres  which  are 
from  one  half  mile  to  one  mile  above  the  sea,  and  the  Atlan- 
tic coast,  from  Connecticut  to  Maine,  is  lined  with  seashore 
cottages.  More  than  one  hundred  thousand  tourists  go 
every  year  to  New  England,  and  they  spend  more  in  one 
summer  than  we  get  in  that  time  from  Alaska's  gold  mines. 

We  can  have  good  fishing  almost  anywhere.  There  are 
trout  streams  in  the  mountains,  and  along  the  coast  the 
fish  swarm  to  such  an  extent  that  sea  food  is  caught  and 
exported  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  Boston  markets 
ten  million  dollars'  worth  of  fish  in  one  year. 


H2  NORTH  AMERICA 

New  England's  fishing  fleet  numbers  almost  two  thou- 
sand boats,  many  of  which  are  sailing  vessels  known  as 
schooners.  They  stay  out  at  sea  for  a  month  or  more  at  a 
time,  bringing  back  cargoes  of  cod  and  other  fish.  The  chief 
fishing  grounds  are  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  although 
some  of  the  vessels  go  as  far  as  Iceland  and  Greenland. 

In  our  travels  through  the  mountains  we  shall  see  the 
wealth  that  New  England  has  in  its  hills.  We  know  that 
the  streams  flowing  rapidly  down  them  supply  the  water 
power  which  moves  many  of  the  factories  in  the  lowlands. 
The  mountains  furnish  also  other  things  of  value,  although 
they  have  no  great  beds  of  coal  and  iron,  such  as  are  found 
in  the  Appalachian  chain  farther  south. 

The  stone  of  New  England  is  worth  a  great  deal  of  money. 
We  find  great  quarries  in  Vermont,  New  Hampshire, 
Maine,  and  Massachusetts,  in  which  granite  is  being 
blasted  out  with  dynamite  and  cut  into  blocks  to  be  shipped 
to  all  parts  of  our  country.  Many  of  our  cities  are  paved 
with  granite  which  has  come  from  this  region,  and  some  of 
our  public  buildings  are  made  of  such  stone.  Almost  half 
of  all  the  marble  used  in  our  country  comes  from  Vermont, 
although  much  is  now  being  quarried  in  parts  of  Tennessee 
and  Georgia. 

In  visiting  the  various  quarries  we  see  that  more  care  is 
used  in  getting  out  marble  than  in  quarrying  granite.  The 
rough  blocks  are  cut  by  a  long  strip  of  steel  called  a  sand 
saw.  A  little  groove  is  cut  in  the  stone,  and  filled  with 
sand.  Then  the  steel  strip  is  moved  by  machinery  back 
and  forth  so  that  it  rubs  the  sand  in  the  crack  against  the 
marble,  and  the  sand  does  the  cutting.  After  the  stones 
have  been  sawed  into  the  proper  shapes,  they  are  carefully 
smoothed  and  polished.  They  are  then  ready  for  shipment, 
and  are  sent  away  on  cars. 


NEW  ENGLAND   MOUNTAINS  AND  LAKES        113 


Granite  quarry.     The  cranes  are  used  to  lift  out  the  blocks  of 

stone. 

A  great  many  slates  are  made  at  Bangor,  Maine,  and 
there  we  can  see  boys  and  girls  attending  the  machines 
which  turn  out  thousands  of  school  slates  and  also  the  slate 
used  for  roofing. 

But  there  is  something  made  in  New  England  which  every 
boy  and  girl  is  glad  to  get.  I  refer  to  maple  sugar,  which 
comes  from  the  sap  of  the  maple  tree.  The  sap  is  gathered 
in  the  spring,  after  the  first  thaw,  at  which  time  it  begins 
to  move  in  the  trees.  Holes  are  then  bored  in  the  trunks 
not  far  above  the  ground,  and  wooden  tubes  are  driven  into 
them.  Soon  the  sap  begins  to  flow.  It  oozes  from  the 
trees  into  the  tubes,  and  drop  by  drop  falls  into  the  buckets 
which  are  hung  beneath  them  or  placed  at  the  foot  of  the 
trees.  As  the  drops  hang  on  the  end  of  the  tube  they  look 
just  like  water.  Catch  one  of  them  upon  your  finger  and 


H4  NORTH  AMERICA 

taste  it.    It  is  sweet.    The  water  in  the  bucket  is  called 
sugar  water. 

After  the  buckets  are  filled,  the  sugar  water  is  carried  to 
the  sugar  house,'  where  it  is  put  into  large  kettles  to  be 
boiled.  The  water  evaporates  as  the  boiling  goes  on,  and 
there  is  left  a  sirup  which  grows  thicker  and  thicker.  When 


Gathering  sugar  water  from  the  buckets. 

it  is  thick  enough  for  table  use,  a  part  is  taken  out  and 
poured  into  cans.  The  rest  is  boiled  still  longer  and  is  run 
off  into  molds,  and  as  it  cools  it  hardens  into  sugar.  Farther 
on  in  our  travels  we  shall  visit  Louisiana,  where  much  of 
our  cane  sugar  is  made,  and  later  California,  Utah,  and 
other  states  of  the  West  where  millions  of  tons  of  sugar 
are  made  from  beets  every  year. 


BOSTON  115 

XIV.  BOSTON 

WE  have  no  trouble  in  going  to  Boston.  It  is  the 
largest  and  wealthiest  city  of  the  northeastern  sec- 
tion of  our  country.  It  has  railroads  to  all  parts  of  New 
England,  and  one  of  the  best  harbors  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
a  great  bay  protected  by  many  islands.  It  has  one  of  the 
largest  piers  in  the  world,  so  long  that  it  can  accommodate 
five  great  ocean  steamers  at  one  time. 

Boston  is  so  situated  that  it  forms  an  excellent  port  for 
the  shipping  of  goods  to  and  from  other  parts  of  the  United 
States  and  also  to  and  from  South  America  and  Europe. 
It  is  a  day's  sail  nearer  the  chief  ports  of  western  Europe 
than  New  York,  and  is  nearer  Rio  de  Janeiro  than  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Galveston,  or  New  Orleans.  There 
is  much  sea  commerce  between  Boston  and  New  York, 
and  this  has  been  increased  by  the  Cape  Cod  Canal.  This 
canal  crosses  the  Cape  Cod  peninsula,  shortening  the  dis- 
tance between  Boston  and  New  York  by  more  than  seventy 
miles,  and  enabling  the  ships  to  avoid  going  around  Cape 
Cod,  where  within  a  period  of  fifty  years  more  than  twenty- 
five  hundred  vessels  were  wrecked,  and  eight  hundred 
lives  lost. 

The  Cape  Cod  Canal  is  a  sea-level  canal.  It  is  eight  miles 
long,  thirty-five  feet  deep,  and  one  hundred  feet  wide  at 
the  bottom.  It  forms  a  part  of  the  Atlantic  Intra-Coastal 
Waterway,  an  inland  passage  which,  when  completed,  will 
extend  from  Boston  south  through  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  and  other  states  of  our  Atlantic  coast. 

The  harbor  and  landing  facilities  of  Boston  allow  the 
materials  for  manufacturing  to  be  brought  in  so  cheaply 
that  it  has  become  a  great  commercial  city.  Itjs^the  chief 
wool  market  of  the  United  States,  our  largestjish  marketf 


BOSTON  117 

and  in  or  near  it  are  the  principal  leather,  ^sbpe^and  shoe 
machinery  centers,  the  leading  textile^and  chocolate  in- 
dustries of  our  country,  and  the  largest  candy  factories  of 
the  world.  Boston  has  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
persons  working  in  its  industrial  establishments.  It  has 
about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants;  a 
million  more  live  within  a  few  miles  of  its  center,  and  three 
and  one  half  millions  are  within  two  hours'  ride  by  rail. 

As  we  step  from  the  cars  the  streets  seem  even  more 
crowded  than  they  were  in  New  York.  The  railroad  station 
covers  more  than  eleven  acres,  and  over  four  hundred 
trains  go  in  and  out  of  it  every  day.  The  city  has  surface 
and  elevated  railways,  and  also  underground  roads,  which 
carry  several  hundred  millions  of  passengers  each  year. 

We  first  visit  the  old  business  section.  Here  the  town 
seems  cramped,  and  the  streets  are  narrow  and  crooked, 
although  within  the  past  few  years  many  millions  of  dol- 
lars have  been  spent  in  widening  and  straightening  them. 
The  buildings  are  high,  and  between  Washington  Street 
and  Boston  Common  they  contain  so  many  people  that  they 
make  us  think  of  enormous  boxes  divided  into  compart- 
ments packed  with  men  carrying  on  different  kinds  of 
work. 

We  spend  some  time  on  Boston  Common.  This  is  a 
beautiful  park  of  forty-eight  acres  in  the  heart  of  the  city, 
which  is  considered  one  of  the  finest  playgrounds  in  the 
United  States.  Boston  Common  is  shaded  by  old  elm 
trees,  and  at  one  side  of  it  is  a  great  oblong  building  whose 
golden  dome  may  be  seen  from  almost  every  part  of  the 
city.  That  is  the  statehouse,  where  the  governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts has  his  offices  and  the  legislature  meets  every 
year  to  make  laws  for  the  state.  In  the  center  of  the  Com- 
mon is  the  Frog  Pond,  about  which  the  boys  play  in  the 


Ii8  NORTH  AMERICA 

summer,  and  at  the  lower  end  is  a  place  where  hundreds 
of  pigeons  fly  down  every  day  to  be  fed. 

During  our  tour  about  the  city  we  pass  other  fine  parks 
containing  tennis  courts,  golf  grounds,  baseball  diamonds, 
and  open-air  gymnasiums.  We  are  told  that  Boston  has 
more  public  playgrounds  than  London,  Paris,  Berlin,  or 
New  York.  It  has  many  beautiful  streets.  Common- 
wealth Avenue,  for  instance,  is  almost  one  hundred  feet 
wider  than  Pennsylvania  Avenue  in  Washington,  and 
through  its  center  runs  a  park  of  trees,  among  which  are 
footpaths.  There  are  fine  residences  on  both  sides  of  the 
avenue,  and  at  night,  when  the  street  is  lighted  with  four 
rows  of  lamps,  and  the  automobiles  of  rich  Bostonians  are 
passing  to  and  fro  upon  it,  it  presents  a  splendid  sight. 

The  Bostonians  have  always  been  noted  for  their  culture 
and  learning.  Their  city  is  called  the  Athens  of  America, 
and  some  of  our  best-loved  authors  have  come  from  here. 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  who  wrote  "The  Wonder  Book" 
and  "Tanglewood  Tales,"  lived  many  years  at  Salem, 
near  Boston,  and  was  once  employed  in  the  Boston 
Customhouse;  Prescott,  the  blind  historian,  the  author 
of  "The  Conquest  of  Mexico,"  lived  in  the  city;  and  Ban- 
croft, Longfellow,  Lowell,  and  Holmes  resided  at  Cam- 
bridge, near  by.  The  city  has  large  book  stores  and  pub- 
lishing houses,  and  its  libraries  and  museums  are  among 
the  best  to  be  found  anywhere.  It  has  musical,  scientific, 
and  other  schools,  as  well  as  several  large  colleges.  At 
Cambridge  we  visit  Harvard  University,  which  has  now 
about  nine  hundred  teachers  and  more  than  seven  thou- 
sand students.  It  is  our  oldest  university,  having  been 
founded  in  1636,  or  more  than  sixty  years  before  the  open- 
ing of  Yale  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

Yale  and  Harvard  were  for  a  long  time  the  most  famous 


Part  of  the  Massachusetts  Statehouse,  facing  Boston  Common. 


Boston  is  noted  for  its  fine  playgrounds. 
119 


120.  NORTH  AMERICA 

of  our  colleges;  but  to-day  there  are  good  schools  and 
colleges  in  every  part  of  the  United  States. 

It  was  in  Cambridge  that  General  Washington  took 
command  of  the  army  of  the  Revolution.  This  was  on  the 
third  of  July,  1775.  Boston  was  then  in  the  hands  of  the 
British,  but  General  Washington  took  it  about  eight  months 
later.  We  can  visit  Dorchester  Heights,  where  Washing- 
ton put  his  cannon  during  the  last  of  the  siege.  From  these 
heights  he  could  fire  upon  the  city  and  at  the  ships  in  the 
harbor,  and  thus  he  forced  the  British  to  leave. 

New  England  people  have  always  been  noted  for  their 
bravery.  Everywhere  in  Boston  we  see  things  which  re- 
mind us  of  the  stirring  times  of  the  past,  when  it  took  real 
courage  to  be  a  true  American  citizen.  Let  us  ride  out  to 
the  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  It  stands  on  the  site  where 
the  Americans  fought  the  British  so  bravely  before  Wash- 
ington came.  This  section  of  Boston  is  now  thickly  settled, 
but  the  monument  marks  the  place  of  the  battle.  It  is  a 
shaft  of  granite,  the  corner  stone  of  which  was  laid  by 
General  Lafayette  in  1825.  There  are  steps  inside  it  by 
which  we  can  walk  to  the  top  and  look  over  the  city.  On 
the  ground  below  us  we  see  the  statue  of  Colonel  William 
Prescott,  who  commanded  the  Americans  that  day.  It 
represents  him  as  he  looked  when  the  British  were,  coming, 
and  when  he  held  back  his  men  until  they  could  do  the 
most  damage,  saying:  "Don't  fire  till  I  tell  you!  Don't 
fire  till  you  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes!" 

Later  on,  as  we  stroll  along  the  wharves  of  the  harbor, 
we  think  of  the  famous  Boston  tea  party,  when  fifty  of  the 
men  and  boys  of  the  town,  disguised  as  Indians,  ran  yelling 
down  to  these  wharves,  and,  boarding  the  British  ships 
which  were  loaded  with  tea  for  America,  emptied  the  chests 
of  tea  into  the  water. 


BOSTON  121 

The  British  government  had  said  that  Americans  must 
pay  taxes  upon  imported  tea,  but  the  Americans  claimed 
that  the  British  government  had  no  right  to  tax  them  with- 
out their  consent.  Hence  for  a  long  time  they  refused  to 
drink  tea,  or  to  wear  any  kind  of  goods  from  England. 
They  decided  to  dress  in  clothes  made  in  America,  and  to 
drink  tea  of  sage,  sassafras  roots,  and  other  American 
plants.  The  Boston  tea  party  helped  to  bring  on  the 
Revolutionary  War,  which  began  as  a  struggle  between 
parties  in  the  British  Empire  and  ended  with  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States. 

We  next  visit  the  old  North  Church,  in  the  steeple  of 
which  the  lanterns  were  hung  that  night  when  the  British 
soldiers  started  out  on  their  march  to  Concord.  The  lan- 
terns warned  the  patriots  across  the  river  that  the  British 
were  coming.  This  signal  had  been  planned  by  Paul 
Revere,  who  so  bravely  carried  the  news  from  Boston  to 
Lexington.  Longfellow's  poem  tells  how  Revere  sprang  to 
his  saddle,  and  then  there  was — 

"A  hurry  of  hoofs  in  the  village  street, 

A  shape  in  the  moonlight,  a  bulk  in  the  dark, 

And  beneath,  from  the  pebbles,  in  passing,  a  spark 

Struck  out  by  a  steed  flying  fearless  and  fleet; 

That  was  all!  and  yet  through  the  gleam  and  the  light 

The  fate  of  a  nation  was  riding  that  night; 

And  the  spark  struck  out  by  that  steed  in  its  flight 

Kindled  the  land  into  flame  with  its  heat.  .  .  . 

You  know  the  rest.    In  the  books  you  have  read 

How  the  British  regulars  fired  and  fled,— 

How  the  farmers  gave  them  ball  for  ball, 

From  behind  each  fence  and  farmyard  wall; 

Chasing  the  redcoats  down  the  lane, 

Then  crossing  the  field  to  emerge  again 

Under  the  trees  at  the  turn  of  the  road, 

And  only  pausing  to  fire  and  load. 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 8 


122  NORTH  AMERICA 

"So  through  the  night  rode  Paul  Revere; 

And  so  through  the  night  went  his  cry  of  alarm 

To  every  Middlesex  village  and  farm,  — 

A  cry  of  defiance  and  not  of  fear, 

A  voice  in  the  darkness,  a  knock  at  the  door, 

And  a  word  that  shall  echo  for  evermore! 

For,  borne  on  the  night  wind  of  the  past 

Through  all  our  history,  to  the  last, 

In  the  hour  of  darkness  and  peril  and  need 

The  people  shall  waken  and  listen  to  hear 

The  hurrying  hoof  beats  of  that  steed, 

And  the  midnight  message  of  Paul  Revere." 

There  are  many  places  about  Boston  which  will  always 
be  noted  in  the  history  of  our  country.  Plymouth,  where 
the  Pilgrims  landed  from  the  Mayflower  after  they  had 
crossed  the  ocean,  is  only  thirty  miles  away.  We  reach  it 
by  automobile  in  but  little  more  than  an  hour.  It  has 
about  ten  thousand  people,  and  one  hundred  thousand 
tourists  visit  it  every  year.  As  we  look  at  its  comfortable 
homes  we  cannot  realize  the  hardships  our  forefathers 
suffered  during  their  first  winter  in  New  England.  The 
Mayflower  came  into  the  harbor  at  Plymouth  on  a  cold 
December  day  in  the  year  1620.  She  had  just  one  hundred 
passengers.  Most  of  them,  on  account  of  their  religion, 
had  been  driven  from  England  to  Holland,  and  had  now 
come  to  America  that  they  might  be  able  to  worship  God 
in  their  own  way.  They  stepped  from  their  boat  upon  a 
/great  stone,  which  has  become  famous  as  Plymouth  Rock, 
and  is  now  honored  by  all  New  England  people. 

From  the  time  of  their  landing,  the  Pilgrims  were  in 
great  fear  of  the  Indians.  They  had  no  houses  at  first, 
and  in  the  rude  huts  which  they  put  up  they  suffered  such 
privations  that  more  than  half  of  them  died  within  less 
than  a  year. 


BOSTON  123 

We  find  many  relics  of  these  times  in  Pilgrim  Hall. 
Here  is  the  very  sword  which  Miles  Standish,  the  chief 
soldier  of  the  colony,  used  in  his  fights  with  the  Indians; 
and,  even  more  interesting,  the  cradle  in  which  the  first 
white  child  born  in  New  England  was  rocked.  This  cradle 
is  a  little  wicker  affair  with  rockers  of  wood.  It  is  much 
like  a  basket  with  a  sort  of  hood  at  the  back.  As  we  look, 
we  can  see  in  our  imagination  poor  little  Peregrine  White, 
for  that  was  the  baby  boy's  name,  crying  in  it  all  alone; 
and  we  can  realize  somewhat  the  extent  to  which  our 
country  has  grown  when  we  learn  that  now  more  than  two 
million  American  babies  are  born  every  year. 

1.  Locate  the  Appalachian  Highlands.     Through  what  states  do 
they  extend?    Describe  our  trip  to  Mount  Washington. 

2.  Locate  Cape  Cod  Bay.    Buzzards  Bay.    What  canal  joins  them? 

3.  Describe  New  England  as  a  national  playground.     What  ad- 
vantage are  good  roads  to  a  country? 

4.  From  what  section  do  we  get  most  of  our  maple  sugar?     How 
is  it  made?    What  other  kinds  of  sugar  do  we  make?     (See  Carpenter's 
"How  the  World  is  Fed,"  pages  328-345.) 

5.  Tell  how  granite  and  marble  are  cut.     What  famous  marble 
quarries  has  Italy?    (See  Carpenter's  "Europe.") 

6.  Locate  Boston.     Take  a  trip  to  it  from  your  home,  naming  the 
cities  through  which  you  pass.    Why  is  it  called  the  Athens  of  Amer- 
ica?   Name  several  historical  events  which  happened  there. 

7.  What  advantages  has  Boston  as  a  seaport?     Compare  it  with 
New  York.    Trace  a  cargo  of  wool  from  Argentina  to  Boston.    By 
two  routes  from  Melbourne,  Australia.    Trace  a  shipload  of  anthracite 
by  the  shortest  sea  route  from  New  York.     Of  bituminous  coal 
from  Norfolk.    Of  cacao  beans  from  Guayaquil,  Ecuador. 

8.  Why  is  Plymouth  Rock  of  special  interest  to  New  England? 
Who  were  the  Puritans?     Our  Pilgrim  Fathers?     What  poet  has 
written  much  about  them?    Where  did  he  live? 

9.  Where  are  the  world's  greatest  candy  factories?    Trace  a  cake 
of  chocolate  from  the  cacao  bean  to  the  confectioner's  store.     (See 
Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Fed,"  page  317.) 


•st          90°        from 


125 


126  NORTH  AMERICA 

XV.  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES— FROM  BOSTON 
TO  NORFOLK  BY  STEAMER 

WE  leave  New  England  to-day.  We  are  going  to 
travel  through  our  southern  states.  We  are  bound 
for  the  lands  of  the  sun.  The  southern  states  embrace 
nearly  one  fourth  of  all 'the  land  under  Uncle  Sam's  flag. 
They  number  sixteen,  and  most  of  them  are  large.  Texas 
is  four  times  as  big  as  New  England,  with  thousands  of 
square  miles  to  spare.  Kentucky  is  about  five  times  as  large 
as  Massachusetts.  The  rich  farms  of  Oklahoma  exceed  in 
area  those  of  Illinois  or  Iowa.  Alabama  is  larger  than 
Pennsylvania,  and  Tennessee  is  larger  than  Ohio. 

This  section  is  one  of  enormous  resources.  It  contains 
our  chief  cotton  and  tobacco  lands,  and  in  some  years  it 
produces  one  third  of  our  corn.  It  has  mighty  forests, 
with  thousands  of  sawmills  at  work.  It  has  rich  mines  of 
iron,  and  its  coal  fields  supply  a  large  part  of  our  fuel. 
The  Appalachian  Mountains  of  the  South  have  waterfalls 
with  millions  of  undeveloped  horsepower,  and  the  oil  fields 
of  Texas  and  Oklahoma  produce  a  large  part  of  the  gasoline 
which  runs  our  automobiles  and  motor  trucks,  as  well  as 
the  fuel  oil  employed  in  our  industries,  and  the  kerosene 
which  lights  many  homes. 

The  South  is  the  great  winter  market  garden  for  the 
large  cities  and  towns  of  the  North.  It  produces  more 
than  a  half  billion  dollars'  worth  of  fruit  and  vegetables 
every  year.  A  vast  trucking  industry  is  carried  on  in  the 
lowlands  along  the  coast  from  Virginia  to  the  Mexican 
border. 

There  are  good  steamers  from  New  York  and  Boston  to 
our  southern  ports,  and  we  might  take  a  ship  for  Charleston, 
Savannah,  Jacksonville,  New  Orleans.,  or  Galveston,  but  we 


NORFOLK  127 

decide  to  stop  first  at  Norfolk,  Virginia.  Steaming  out  of 
Boston  harbor,  we  sail  about  Cape  Cod,  along  the  Atlantic 
coast,  past  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  to  the 
mouth  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  Much  of  the  time  we  are  out 
of  sight  of  land,  and  it  is  two  days  before  we  see  the  lights 
of  Cape  Charles,  and  pass  over  what  is  known  as  Hampton 
Roads  to  the  mouth  of  the  James  River. 

Here  on  our  left  is  the  thriving  seaport  of  Norfolk,  and 
upon  our  right,  beyond  the  wharves,  grain  elevators,  and 
shipyards  of  Newport  News,  is  Old  Point  Comfort,  where 
the  first  settlers  of  the  Virginia  colony  landed  when  they 
arrived  in  America  from  England  in  1607,  thirteen  years 
before  the  Pilgrims  stepped  out  on  Plymouth  Rock.  Cap- 
tain John  Smith  was  one  of  them.  They  stayed  here  for 
a  time,  near  where  the  little  town  of  Hampton  now  is, 
and  then  sailed  up  the  James  River  and  founded  James- 
:own. 

It  was  at  Hampton  that  the  Virginia  colonists  first  met 
.he  Indians.  There  are  Indians  at  Hampton  now,  but  we 
md  them  more  friendly  than  those  who  greeted  John 
imith.  Those  Indians  were  half-naked  redskins,  with 
>aint  on  their  bodies,  feathers  on  their  heads,  and  scalping 
mives  in  their  belts.  The  Indians  we  see  belong  to  the 
urge  college  at  Hampton,  where  boys  and  girls  from  the 
.ribes  of  the  West  come  to  school.  They  are  taught  English 
md  learn  to  lead  civilized  lives.  The  boys  learn  trades  and 
;he  girls  learn  how  to  cook,  sew,  and  keep  house.  They 
?ress  as  we  do,  and  were  it  not  for  their  copper-colored 
tins,  black  hair,  and  high  cheek  bones,  we  should  not 
;  now  they  belonged  to  the  red  race. 

What  a  great  number  of  colored  people  we  see ! 

We  are  now  in  Virginia,  where  the  land,  like  that  of  the 

ates  farther  south,  was  once  divided  into  great  plantations 


128 


NORFOLK  129 

worked  by  negroes  as  slaves.  These  dark-skinned  people 
belong  to  a  different  race  from  the  whites.  The  first  of 
them  were  brought  by  force  from  Africa  and  were  kept  in 
slavery  until  freed  by  the  great  Civil  War  between  the 
North  and  the  South.  After  the  war  was  over  most  of  the 
colored  people  stayed  in  the  South,  and  in  two  of  the  south- 
ern states;  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi,  there  are  now 
more  negroes  than  whites.  There  are  so  many  of  them  in 
the  United  States  that  they  make  up  nearly  one  tenth  of 
our  whole  population. 

Our  colored  people  are  rapidly  advancing  in  education 
and  wealth.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  them  own  their 
homes,  and  among  them  are  farmers  and  all  sorts  of  me- 
chanics, also  writers,  lawyers,  doctors,  and  bankers.  There 
are  almost  two  million  negro  children  in  our  public  schools, 
and  there  are  several  hundred  colleges  where  colored 
students  are  taught.  Hundreds  are  being  educated  at  the 
Hampton  Institute  here. 

Norfolk  is  the  chief  port  of  Virginia,  and  Newport  News, 
across  Hampton  Roads,  is  one  of  our  chief  shipbuilding 
centers.  Both  places  have  deep  water  and  the  largest  of 
the  ocean  steamships  can  come  to  their  wharves.  Much  of 
the  coal  of  Virginia  and  West  Virginia  is  sent  to  Norfolk  for 
shipment,  about  twenty  million  tons  being  exported  each 
year.  Norfolk  is  a  great  lumber  port,  and  from  the  market 
farms  and  gardens  surrounding  it,  many  shiploads  and 
trainloads  of  fruit  and  vegetables  are  sent  north.  The 
export  of  oysters  and  other  sea  food  caught  in  Chesapeake 
Bay  amounts  to  millions  of  dollars  per  annum. 

This  region  is  interesting  historically.  Not  far  away  is 
Williamsburg,  once  the  capital  of  Virginia,  where  Thomas 
Jefferson,  James  Madison,  and  other  great  men  of  our 
colonial  times  went  to  school  at  William  and  Mary  College, 


130  NORTH  AMERICA 

which  was  founded  a  few  years  before  Yale.  Yorktown, 
where  Lord  Cornwallis  and  his  British  army  surrendered 
to  Washington  in  1781,  can  be  reached  by  automobile 
from  Newport  News  in  two  hours,  and  as  we  stand .  on 
the  wharves  we  can  see  where  the  great  battle  between 
the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac  was  fought  in  1862.  We 
can  read  more  about  all  of  these  events  in  our  histories. 

There  is  another  little  thing  that  may  not  seem  impor- 
tant to  us,  but  which  is  very  important  to  Norfolk.  This 
is  the  peanut.  Norfolk  has  long  been  one  of  the  chief 
peanut  markets  of  the  world,  and  most  of  the  peanuts  we 
buy  on  the  street  stands  are  shipped  from  here.  When 
you  bite  into  a  peanut  you  may  be  pretty  sure  you  are 
biting  into  a  piece  of  Norfolk.  So  many  peanuts  are  raised 
in  our  country  in  one  year  that  if  they  were  equally  divided, 
every  person  in  the  land  might  have  a  half  bushel  and  leave 
some  to  spare. 

Peanuts  are  grown  also  in  other  parts  of  Virginia,  and 
largely  in  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  and 
Texas.  Some  of  these  states  give  prizes  for  the  best  crop 
of  peanuts  raised  by  a  member  of  the  peanut  clubs  formed 
by  the  children.  Not  long  ago  the  Texas  prize  was  won 
by  a  girl  of  fourteen.  She  raised  two  hundred  and  thirty 
bushels  of  nuts  and  had  more  than  two  tons  of  peanut 
hay  from  one  acre  of  ground.  The  prize  was  three  hundred 
dollars  in  cash,  and  in  addition  she  had  the  profit  from  the 
sale  of  the  nuts  and  hay. 

During  our  stay  at  Norfolk  we  learn  how  peanuts  are 
raised.  They  are  sometimes  called  ground  peas,  for  they 
grow  underground.  The  nuts  are  first  shelled,  the  farmers 
being  careful  not  to  break  the  little  red  skins  on  the  ker- 
nels, and  are  then  planted  like  potatoes  or  corn.  It  takes 
about  two  bushels  of  nuts  to  furnish  the  seed  for  an  acre, 


Peanut  field.    The  plants  are  stacked  up  to  dry. 


Peanut  plant.    The  nuts  grow  in  clusters  just  above  the  roots. 


i32  NORTH   AMERICA 

and  this  will  produce,  according  to  the  richness  of  the 
soil,  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  bushels. 

The  planting  is  done  in  May,  and  soon  after  the  little 
green  vines  peep  forth  from  the  ground.  They  spread 
over  the  hills,  sending  out  little  stalks  which  blossom  and 
finally  run  down  into  the  soil,  with  the  seed  pods  on  them. 
The  seeds  are  peanuts. 

In  the  fall  the  nuts  are  ready  to  harvest,  and  the  vines 
are  dug  up,  and  stacked  around  poles  seven  feet  high, 
with  the  nuts  hanging  to  them.  About  two  weeks  later 
the  nuts  are  picked  by  women  and  children. 

After  this  the  nuts  are  cleaned  in  machines  and  sorted 
by  women  and  children,  who  pick  out  the  bad  ones  as  the 
nuts  pass  by  them  on  a  moving  belt  about  a  yard  wide. 
The  peanuts  are  then  put  into  bags  and  shipped  to  all 
parts  of  the  world. 


XVI.  UP  THE  JAMES   RIVER— THE  TOBACCO 
INDUSTRY 

FROM  Norfolk  we  go  by  steamer  up  the  James  River 
to  Richmond,  the  capital  of  Virginia.  The  land 
along  the  banks  is  low,  and  as  we  look  at  the  rich  farms 
on  both  sides  of  us,  we  can  imagine  how  happy  Captain 
John  Smith  and  his  company  felt  when  they  saw  the  rich 
vegetation  as  they  sailed  over  the  same  river,  more  than 
three  hundred  years  ago.  We  soon  reach  the  little  island 
where  they  stopped  and  began  building  what  they  thought 
was  to  be  the  great  city  of  the  New  World. 

This  was  Jamestown,  or,  as  they  called  it,  James  City. 
It  was  the  chief  settlement  in  Virginia  when  Virginia 
included  our  whole  eastern  coast  from  Maine  to  Georgia. 


UP  THE  JAMES  RIVER  133 

There  is  nothing  like  a  city  at  Jamestown  to-day.  All 
we  can  see  are  a  few  graves  and  the  church  with  its  ivy- 
covered  tower.  The  church  is  new,  and  was  built  recently 
to  take  the  place  of  the  original  structure,  but  the  tower 
is  the  one  that  was  put  up  by  the  Jamestown  colonists. 
Not  a  man  is  in  sight.  The  only  signs  of  life  are  some 
sheep  eating  grass  near  by,  and  the  only  sound  is  the 
croaking  of  a  frog. 

The  Jamestown  colony  had  a  worse  time  than  the 
Plymouth  colony.  The  Indians  fought  the  white  men, 
hiding  in  the  woods  about  the  little  settlement,  and  killing 
those  who  ventured  out.  During  one  of  the  Indian  sieges 
of  Jamestown  the  colonists  could  get  nothing  to  eat,  and 
were  forced  to  feed  upon  dogs,  horses,  and  all  sorts  of 
reptiles,  such  as  snakes  and  toads.  That  was  when  the 
settlement  had  grown  to  five  hundred  by  the  landing  of 
more  ships  from  England.  The  period  was  known  as  the 
Starving  Time;  and  when  it  ended  with  the  arrival  ot  a 
shipload  of  provisions,  only  sixty  out  of  the  five  hundred 
were  alive.  At  one  time  the  colony  was  saved  by  the  food 
brought  in  by  the  Indian  princess  Pocahontas,  the  girl 
who  saved  the  life  of  John  Smith. 

One  would  think  that  with  such  troubles  the  English 
would  have  given  up  trying  to  settle  America.  The  colonists 
failed  to  find  any  gold,  but  the  land  proved  to  be  rich,  and 
as  time  went  on,  tobacco  raising  became  profitable. 

We  do  not  think  it  is  good  for  men  to  use  tobacco.  Never- 
theless it  is  one  of  our  most  valuable  crops,  and  we  decide 
to  go  south  from  Richmond  to  visit  the  plantations  and 
learn  how  it  is  raised. 

No  one  in  Europe  knew  anything  about  tobacco  until 
Columbus  discovered  America.  Like  maize  or  Indian 
corn,  and  the  potato  and  tomato,  the  tobacco  plant  was 


134 


THE  TOBACCO  INDUSTRY  135 

first  found  on  our  hemisphere.  Among  the  stories  which 
the  explorers  of  these  early  days  told  when  they  returned 
to  Europe,  was  how  the  Indians  ate  fire  and  breathed  the 
smoke  from  their  nostrils.  Many  of  the  travelers  learned 
to  use  pipes,  and  to  smoke  as  the  Indians  did.  They  in- 
troduced the  custom  into  Europe,  and  it  became  fashionable. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  one  of  the  first  smokers  in 
England.  One  day,  it  is  said,  when  he  was  puffing  away 
at  his  pipe,  a  new  servant  came  in  with  a  pitcher  of  ale  in 
his  hand.  When  he  saw  the  smoke  coming  out  of  Raleigh's 
nose  he  thought  his  master  was  burning  up,  and  threw  the 
ale  over  him  to  put  the  fire  out.  Raleigh  had  sent  several 
expeditions  to  America,  and  Ralph  Lane,  the  captain  of 
one  of  these,  brought  some  tobacco  home  with  him. 

At  one  time  the  Virginia  colonists  used  tobacco  as  money, 
so  that  the  people  took  it  to  the  store  to  buy  sugar,  tea, 
and  other  things  for  their  tables.  Tobacco  is  now  grown 
to  a  large  extent  not  only  in  Virginia,  but  also  in  Kentucky, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  Tennessee,  and  Maryland. 
Some  kinds  are  raised  in  Ohio  and  Wisconsin.  Connecticut 
makes  the  best  wrappers  for  cigars,  while  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  and  Wisconsin  produce  fillers,  or  the  material  inside 
the  wrappers.  The  southern  states  make  most  of  the 
chewing  tobacco  and  snuff. 

We  now  produce  about  three  fifths  of  all  the  tobacco 
used  by  man,  our  chief  competitors  being  British  India 
and  several  of  the  countries  of  Europe. 

We  shall  see  tobacco  fields  everywhere  as  we  ride  south- 
ward through  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  The  plants 
have  leaves  much  like  those  of  cabbages,  but  they  are 
longer  and  smoother,  dark  green,  and  spaced  apart  on 
the  stalk.  The  stalks  are  as  big  around  as  our  thumbs,, 
and  some  are  so  tall  that  we  could  use  them  for  canes. 


136 


THE  TOBACCO  INDUSTRY  137 

The  planting  is  done  in  seed  beds  in  the  spring.  After 
a  short  time  the  little  green  sprouts  come  up.  In  five  or 
six  weeks  the  young  plants  are  taken  up  and  set  out  in 
rows  in  the  fields.  They  are  carefully  cultivated  through- 
out the  summer  and  are  harvested  in  the  fall.  As  the  plants 
ripen  the  leaves  become  yellow.  At  the  proper  time  the 
tobacco  farmer  cuts  off  the  stalks  close  to  the  earth  and 
hangs  them  on  sticks  which  are  stuck  in  the  ground.  In 
some  places  he  strips  the  leaves  from  the  stalks  and  strings 
them  on  wires. 

The  leaves  must  be  cured  before  they  can  be  sold.  This 
is  done  in  tobacco  barns.  Some  of  them  are  little  wooden 
cabins  without  windows,  in  each  of  which  is  a  stove  with 
flues  or  pipes  that  run  through  the  barn.  The  leaves  are 
hung  up  in  the  barn,  and  the  place  is  kept  as  hot  as  an  oven, 
day  and  night,  until  they  are  just  right  for  the  market.  In 
some  other  localities  the  crop  is  cured  in  a  different  way, 
without  the  use  of  stoves;  and  in  some  places  the  tobacco 
is  raised  under  great  tents,  hundreds  of  acres  being  shaded 
with  white  cotton  cloth.  Such  cultivation  often  costs 
more  than  one  thousand  dollars  per  acre. 

We  stop  for  a  few  days  in  Richmond.  It  is  situated  on 
the  James  River,  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  miles  from 
the  ocean.  The  stream  here  has  a  fall  of  one  hundred  feet 
in  six  miles,  furnishing  much  water  power;  and  as  the  city 
has  also  cheap  coal,  it  is  a  great  industrial  center. 

We  motor  about  Richmond,  visiting  the  parks,  the  old 
capitol  building,  the  former  residences  of  Chief  Justice 
Marshall  and  of  General  Lee,  and  take  a  look  at  the  many 
statues  which  commemorate  Virginia's  historic  past.  The 
state  was  the  birthplace  of  eight  Presidents,  although  all 
did  not  live  here  at  the  time  of  their  election.  It  was  in 
Richmond  that  the  Confederate  States  had  their  capital 


138 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Statue  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee  in  Richmond.    The  city  is  noted  for 
its  fine  parks  and  monuments. 

during  our  great  Civil  War.  It  was  here,  in  St.  John's 
Episcopal  Church,  that  Patrick  Henry  sounded  one  of  the 
watchcries  of  the  Revolution  in  his  famous  speech,  closing 
with  the  words,  ''Give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death!" 

1.  Make  a  sketch  map  of  the  southern  states.    Which  is  the  largest? 
The  smallest?     What  great  mountain  chain  runs  through  some  of 
them?    What  great  plain?    Which  state  is  a  peninsula?    Name  the 
five  principal  rivers.    Which  state  has  the  longest  seacoast?    Which 
have  no  seacoast? 

2.  Locate  Norfolk  and  Jamestown.     Compare  Jamestown  with 
Plymouth,  telling  all  you  can  about  the  two  colonies. 

3.  Who  was  John  Smith?    Pocahontas?    Tell  the  story  of  the  life 
of  each. 

4.  What  schools  do  we  find  at  Hampton?    Mention  some  of  the 
exports  of  Norfolk.    Why  is  it  a  great  port? 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  COTTON 


139 


5.  What  nut  forms  an  important  crop  of  the  South?    Where  does 
it  grow  best?    Bring  one  to  class,  and  let  it  tell  the  story  of  its  life 
and  the  industry. 

6.  Describe  our  tobacco  industry.     Why  is  it  important  to  our 
country?    What  other  plants  of  note  originated  in  America? 

7.  Locate  Richmond.    Take  a  trip  through  it  and  tell  what  you  see. 
What  Presidents  were  born  in  Virginia? 


XVII.  IN  THE  LAND  OF  COTTON 

EAVING  the  tobacco  lands  of  Virginia,  we  move  on 
farther  south,  and  soon  find  ourselves  in  the  land 
of  cotton.  The  cotton  belt  of  the  United  States  begins  in 
North  and  South  Carolina,  and  runs  through  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  and 
Oklahoma.  A  good  idea  of  it  can  be  gained  by  looking  at 
the  map.  Of  all  the 
states,  Texas  pro- 
duces the  most  cot- 
ton, its  annual  yield 
being  about  one 
fourth  of  the  crop. 
Much  cotton  comes 
also  from  irrigated 
places  in  the  arid 
lands  of  California 
and  Arizona. 


The  cotton  belt. 

This  is  of  a  very  fine  staple,  and  is  used 
largely  in  the  making  of  motorcar  tires. 

Do  you  realize  how  important  the  cotton  crop  is  to  our 
country? 

It  is  so  valuable  that  if  all  the  gold  dug  from  the  mines  of 
the  whole  earth  in  one  year  were  put  into  one  pile,  and  the 


140 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  COTTON  141 

cotton  annually  shipped  to  Europe  were  stacked  up  beside 
it,  the  cotton  pile  would  be  far  the  more  valuable.  A  bale 
of  cotton  is  about  two  or  three  feet  square  and  five  feet  in 
length.  Laid  end  to  end,  the  bales  we  make  in  one  year 
would  extend  twice  as  far  as  the  distance  from  the  planta- 
tions to  China.  Loaded  upon  cars  at  forty  bales  to  the  car, 
they  would  fill  a  solid  train  reaching  from  Cape  Cod  to 
Puget  Sound,  and  on  a  long  way  toward  Alaska. 

We  usually  produce  over  half,  and  in  some  years  three 
fourths,  of  all  the  cotton  grown  upon  earth,  so  that  we 
furnish  the  cotton  cloth  for  the  greater  part  of  mankind. 
There  are  yellow  people  in  Asia,  black  people  in  Africa, 
brown  people  in  the  Philippines,  red  Indians  in  South 
America,  and  white  people  in  Europe,  all  clad  in  our  cottons. 
The  sewing  of  the  world  is  done  with  cotton  thread,  our 
common  clothes  are  cotton,  and  at  night  we  sleep  between 
cotton  sheets. 

But  why  does  the  United  States  produce  so  much  more 
cotton  than  any  other  land? 

It  is  because  we  have  the  conditions  best  fitted  for  that 
crop.  Cotton  requires  a  good  soil  and  a  season  of  seven  or 
more  months  without  frost  and  with  not  too  much  moisture. 
This  is  found  in  the  cotton  belt,  and  especially  in  a  string 
of  little  islands  off  the  Atlantic  coast  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  Upon  those  islands  is  grown  our  sea-island  cotton, 
one  of  the  best  varieties  known  to  man.  Here  the  plants 
are  much  larger  than  those  of  other  parts  of  our  country. 
The  ripe  cotton  shines  like  satin,  and  its  fibers  are  longer 
than  those  grown  in  other  regions. 

Have  you  ever  seen  a  cotton  plantation? 

When  the  cotton  is  ripe,  it  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
sights  of  the  world.  The  plants  are  about  as  high  as  your 
waist,  and  shining  out  on  the  brown  and  green  background 

CARP.    N.   AMER. — 9 


142  NORTH  AMERICA 

of  the  bushes,  are  many  white  bunches  that  look  like  soft 
balls  of  snow. 

We  pass  many  such  fields  in  our  travels.  They  are  dotted 
with  pickers.  Negro  men  and  women  walk  through  the 
rows,  pulling  the  white  lint  from  the  stalks  and  putting  it 
into  bags  or  baskets.  They  sing  as  they  work,  and  their 
rich,  soft  voices  float  into  the  car  windows  as  we  ride  by. 

At  the  stations  are  piles  of  cotton  bales  waiting  to  be 
chipped  to  the  factories  of  New  England  or  to  other  parts 
'of  the  country.  Some  will  go  to  the  seaports,  where  they 
will  be  rebaled  and  exported  to  Europe.  Every  little  farm- 
house we  pass  has  one  or  more  bales  in  its  yard.  Upon  the 
country  roads  we  see  motor  trucks  .and  wagons  filled  with 
freshly  picked  cotton  on  its  way  to  the  gin,  where  the  seeds 
must  be  taken  out  before  it  can  be  sold. 

But  let  us  visit  one  of  the  great  cotton  plantations  of 
South  Carolina.  We  are  now  in  a  field  which  is  not  yet 
ripe.  It  is  filled  with  green  bushes,  upon  which  are  the 
bolls  containing  the  cotton.  The  largest  bolls  are  about  the 
size  of  a  walnut  with  the  hull  on.  Farther  over  is  a  field 
where  the  bolls  are  cracking  open  and  the  green  bushes  seem 
dusted  with  white.  That  cotton  is  almost  ripe,  and  it  will 
soon  be  ready  for  picking. 

Look  farther  on.  There  is  a  spot  where  the  soil  must  be 
richer.  The  bolls  on  the  lower  branches  are  open,  and 
great  tufts  of  white  hang  out  as  if  ready  to  drop  into  the 
hands  of  the  pickers.  The  bolls  on  the  higher  branches  are 
still  closed. 

Let  us  go  into  that  ripening  field  and  examine  the  cotton. 
We  pull  some  bunches  of  white  from  the  bolls.  They  come 
out  so  easily  they  almost  fall  into  our  hands.  What  are  the 
hard  little  things  we  feel  inside  the  soft  lint?  Let  us  pick  it 
apart  and  see.  Those  are  the  cotton  seeds.  They  are  black 


A  branch  of  cotton  ready  for  picking. 


Cotton  bolls  fully  ripe. 
143 


144  NORTH  AMERICA 

or  dark  brown  and  as  big  as  the  seeds  of  a  lemon.  They 
must  all  be  removed  before  the  cotton  is  sold.  We  shall 
see  how  this  is  done  later  on. 

It  is  from  such  seeds  that  the  cotton  plants  grow.  The 
farmer  tells  us  that  his  seed  was  planted  in  April,  in  rows 
of  hills  about  three  feet  apart.  He  says  the  sprouts  soon 
came  through  the  soil,  and  that  by  the  middle  of  June  the 
field  was  filled  with  green  plants  upon  which  were  beautiful 
flowers.  As  they  burst  into  bloom  they  were  white;  the 
next  day  they  turned  red,  and  looked  like  roses.  They 
soon  dropped  off,  however,  and  the  bolls  of  cotton  ap- 
peared. The  bolls  do  not  crack  open  until  they  are  ripe, 
and  it  is  then  only  that  the  white  fibers  show. 

From  what  we  have  seen  we  know  that  the  bolls  do  not 
all  ripen  at  once.  For  this  reason  the  pickers  have  to  go 
over  a  field  many  times.  In  Texas  and  other  parts  of  the 
far  South  the  harvesting  season  begins  in  July.  Farther 
north  it  is  later,  and  in  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and  parts 
of  Texas  some  of  the  cotton  is  often  on  the  stalks  at  Christ- 
mas. 

After  picking,  the  cotton  is  carried  to  the  gin.  There  is 
a  wagonload  now.  Let  us  jump  in  and  go  along  with  it. 
The  negro  driver  is  good-natured,  and  he  laughs  loudly 
as  we  drop  down  into  the  load  of  fleecy  white.  At  the 
ginhouse  we  crawi  out,  covered  with  lint,  and  watch  the 
-men  throw  the  cotton  into  a  machine  where  it  falls  be- 
tween fine  circular  saws  so  arranged  that  the  seeds  can 
just  pass  between  them.  The  lint  is  caught  by  the  teeth 
of  the  saws  and  torn  from  the  seeds,  while  the  seeds  drop 
below. 

Between  the  saws  are  stiff  brushes  which  pull  the  cotton 
from  the  teeth  and  roll  it  out  in  a  beautiful,  fleecy  sheet. 
As  it  drops  on  the  floor  at  the  side  of  the  gin  it  looks  like  a 


IN  THE  LAND  OF  COTTON  145 

drift  of  pure  snow.  The  machines  that  do -this  work  are 
the  outcome  of  the  invention  of  Eli  Whitney,  a  Massa- 
chusetts man,  who  made  the  first  gin  while  teaching  school 
in  the  South.  Before  that,  the  cotton  was  taken  from  the 
seeds  by  hand.  Then  one  man  could  seed  less  than  one 
pound  a  day,  and  it  took  him  almost  two  years  to  seed  a 
whole  bale.  Some  of  the  gins  will  now  turn  out  fifty  or 
more  bales  in  a  day. 

As  it  comes  from  the  gin  the  cotton  is  ready  for  baling. 
By  this  is  meant  packing  it  into  such  bundles  as  will  take 
up  the  least  space  on  the  cars  or  ships  upon  which  it  is  to 
be  carried  to  the  markets.  This  is  done  in  huge  presses 


Truck  load  of  cotton  on  its  way  from  the  gin  to  the  factory.    The 
author  in  the  foreground. 

which  so  squeeze  the  cotton  together  that  a  great  quantity 
of  it  is  pressed  into  a  bale  about  two  feet  square  and  five 
feet  in  length.  It  is  next  wrapped  with  rough  cloth  much 
like  coffee  sacking,  and  bound  with  bands  of  hoop  iron. 
The  ordinary  bale  weighs  from  four  hundred  and  fifty  to 


146  NORTH  AMERICA 

five  hundred  pounds.  Its  price  varies  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  according  to  the  amount  of  the  crop. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  cotton  seed? 

This  is  carefully  saved.  It  is  worth  several  hundred 
million  dollars  a  year.  A  few  years  ago  it  was  supposed 
to  be  worth  nothing,  and  was  burned  or  thrown  away. 
Now  it  is  used  for  making  oil  and  other  things.  The  seeds 
are  ground,  and  the  oil  is  pressed  out.  The  crushed  seeds 
are  used  for  making  an  oil  cake,  for  feeding  cattle  and 
other  stock.  The  hulls  of  the  seeds,  which  are  taken  off 
before  pressing,  are  also  used  for  feeding  and  as  a  fertilizer. 

Cottonseed  oil  is  used  in  the  making  of  soap.  Much  of 
it  goes  into  patent  butters,  like  oleomargarine;  and  a  great 
deal,  when  purified,  is  sold  as  salad  oil,  taking  the  place 
of  olive  oil.  It  is  said  that  much  of  the  olive  oil  sold  in  the 
United  States  is  really  cottonseed  oil,  and  that  cottonseed 
oil  is  sometimes  shipped  to  Italy,  where  it  is  labeled  olive 
oil  and  sent  back  to  us.  Many  of  the  workmen  in  the  oil 
mills  use  the  oil  to  butter  the  bread  which  they  take  with 
them  for  lunch.  They  put  the  slices  fresh  cut  from  the  loaf 
under  the  press,  where  the  sweet,  warm,  fresh  oil  is  trickling 
out.  They  tell  us  it  tastes  better  than  butter. 


XVIII.  IN  A  GREAT  COTTON  MILL 

WE  shall  visit  one  of  the  cotton  factories  this  morn- 
ing, and  see  how  the  white  lint  is  turned  into 
cloth.  Until  recent  years  all  our  great  cotton  mills  were 
in  New  England.  We  saw  many  at  Lowell,  New  Bedford, 
and  Fall  River  in  Massachusetts,  Manchester  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Pawtucket,  Rhode  Island,  and  we  know  that 


IN  A  GREAT  COTTON  MILL  147 

a  large  part  of  our  cotton  cloth  is  still  made  in  New  Eng- 
land. We  find,  however,  that  many  cotton  factories  have 
been  built  in  the  South.  There  are  large  mills  at  Charlotte 
and  Greensboro  in  North  Carolina,  at  Spartanburg,  Green- 
ville, and  Columbia  in  South  Carolina,  at  Atlanta  and 
Augusta  in  Georgia,  and  at  very  many  other  places  in 
different  parts  of  the  cotton  belt.  The  cotton  states  have 
good  water  power,  and  the  mills  are  so  near  the  plantations 
that  they  can  get  the  raw  cotton  very  cheaply.  A  large 
part  of  the  cotton  goods  of  the  United  States  is  now  woven 
in  the  South. 

The  factory  we  visit  is  at  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina. 
It  is  in  a  brick  building  of  three  stories,  covering  several 
acres.  It  contains  many  large  rooms  filled  with  interesting 
machinery,  and  hundreds  of  white  men  and  women  are  at 
work  in  it.  The  cotton  is  taken  almost  directly  from  the 
gin  to  the  factory.  Suppose  we  follow  a  bale  as  it  passes 
through  one  room  after  another,  until  it  is  turned  into 
cloth. 

We  first  take  some  raw  cotton  out  of  the  bale  and  pull 
it  apart.  What  queer  stuff  it  is!  It  is  composed  of  thou- 
sands of  little  white  hairs,  so  fine  that  several  of  them 
twisted  together  would  not  be  as  thick  as  one  hair  of  your 
head.  These  little  cotton  hairs  are  called  fibers.  They 
are  not  so  long  as  your  finger,  and  they  are  so  light  that 
there  are  millions  of  them  in  a  few  pounds  of  cotton.  Still, 
of  these  tiny  hairs  the  strongest  of  thread  and  cloth  are 
to  be  made. 

Our  bale  is  first  taken  apart,  and  the  cotton  is  thrown 
upon  huge  cylinders  or  rollers  called  openers,  which  pull 
the  fibers  apart.  They  are  then  passed  through  other 
rollers,  the  sharp  teeth  of  which  take  out  the  dirt,  so  that 
when  the  cotton  comes  from  them  not  a  stick,  a  leaf,  or  a 


IN  A  GREAT   COTTON  MILL  149 

grain  of  sand  is  left  in  it.  It  now  feels  soft  and  is  whiter 
than  when  in  the  bale. 

The  next  process  is  carding.  In  this  the  cotton  is  run 
through  rollers  covered  with  wire  teeth  so  fine  that  there 
are  more  than  a  score  of  them  on  a  space  as  small  as  one's 
finger  nail.  These  little  teeth  brush  and  comb  the  cotton 
as  it  goes  through;  they  pull  the  tangled  fibers  apart  and 
make  them  lie  almost  altogether  one  way,  so  that  when  they 
come  out  at  the  other  end  of  the  roller,  they  are  a  rope  of 
cotton  yarn  as  soft  as  down.  It  is  of  this  rope  that  the 
thread  is  to  be  made. 

The  rope  is  as  big  around  as  a  broomstick.  It  seems 
enough  for  a  dozen  threads,  but  it  is  not  enough  to  make 
one.  It  is  doubled  again  and  again  as  it  goes  through  other 
machines  which  twist  it  finer  and  finer,  until  at  last  it  is 
no  thicker  than  a  fishing  line.  It  is  still  soft,  however.  An- 
other strand  of  the  same  size,  twisted  in  the  same  way  from 
another  cotton  rope,  is  now  joined  with  it,  and  the  two  are 
twisted  and  retwisted  by  machinery  until  they  are  as  small 
as  the  finest  cotton  thread  used  for  sewing.  This  is  the 
thread  out  of  which  the  cloth  is  to  be  woven. 

As  the  thread  comes  from  the  machines  some  of  it  is 
rolled  upon  long  spools,  called  spindles,  by  the  mule  spin- 
ner. This  machine  takes  the  place  of  the  old  spinning 
wheel,  but  it  winds  hundreds  of  spools  at  one  time,  a 
single  machine  doing  as  much  work,  perhaps,  as  in  colo- 
nial days  a  thousand  women  could  do.  Some  threads  are 
wound  upon  rollers  or  beams  of  the  width  of  the  cloth  to 
be  made.  These  threads  are  the  warp;  they  run  length- 
wise in  the  cloth. 

The  cross  threads  are  called  the  woof  or  filling  of  the 
cloth.  They  are  wound  upon  small  bobbins,  which  are 
then  thrown  from  one  side  of  the  cloth  to  the  other.  This 


150  NORTH  AMERICA 

is  done  in  the  shuttle,  a  wooden  case  which  carries  the  woof 
thread  back  and  forth  through  the  warp  threads  at  the  rate 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  more  times  a  minute.  This  is 
called  weaving.  The  machines  with  which  the  weaving 
is  done  are  the  looms.  The  machinery  in  the  weaving 
rooms  makes  a  great  din,  and  the  looms  work  so  fast  that 
thousands  of  yards  of  cloth  are  woven  in  one  factory  in 
a  day. 

At  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  we  visit  a  mill  which 
makes  cloth  for  overalls  only.  Its  yearly  output  is  almost 
fifty  million  yards  a  yard  wide.  The  output  of  one  day 
would  carpet  a  railroad  track  from  New  York  to  Phila- 
delphia, while  that  of  a  year,  if  it  could  be  stretched  over 
mountains  and  plains  and  oceans  and  rivers,  would  more 
than  cover  a  path  three  feet  wide  reaching  clear  around 
the  world  at  the  equator. 

The  rapid  spinning  and  weaving  are  due  to  many  inven- 
tions. The  invention  of  the  steam  engine  by  James  Watt, 
and  discoveries  in  the  uses  of  electricity  by  Faraday,  Edi- 
son, Tesla,  and  others,  had  much  to  do  with  giving  us  the 
power  now  used  in  the  mills,  while  the  spinning  jenny 
invented  by  Hargreaves,  and  the  spinning  frame  invented 
by  Arkwright,  form  the  basis  of  the  many  improvements 
for  turning  the  lint  into  cloth. 

We  shall  visit  other  mills  as  we  go  on  with  our  journey 
and  at  every  large  port  we  shall  see  ships  taking  on  cotton 
for  the  factories  of  New  England  and  Europe  as  well  as  for 
China,  Japan,  India,  and  South  America.  Those  lands 
all  raise  more  or  less  cotton,  but  our  cotton  is  needed  to 
mix  with  theirs,  as  the  combination  makes  better  cloth. 
By  far  the  greater  part  of  our  raw  cotton  goes  abroad,  the 
exports  bringing  in  hundred  of  millions  of  dollars  a  year. 
Our  best  customer  is  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain 


IN  A   GREAT   COTTON  MILL  151 

and  Ireland,  which  is  the  chief  cotton-weaving  country  not 
only  of  Europe  but  of  the  whole  world.  After  that  come 
Germany  and  France  in  Europe,  and  Japan  in  Asia.  There 
are  also  large  weaving  mills  in  Holland,  Switzerland,  Italy, 
Austria,  Czechoslovakia,  Poland,  and  Russia,  and  in  China 
and  India. 

The  foreign  factories  pay  us  money  for  the  cotton  they 
buy,  and  part  of  that  money  goes  to  the  boys  and  girls 
on  our  southern  plantations  as  wages.  In  foreign  factories 
tens  of  thousands  of  boys  and  girls  are  kept  busy  spinning 
and  weaving,  and  from  the  cloths  they  have  made  comes 
the  money  paid  us;  so  you  see  they  are  working  for  us. 
And  as  they  must  have  our  cotton  to  carry  on  their  busi- 
ness, we  are  working  for  them.  Moreover,  this  is  true  also 
of  the  little  black,  brown,  yellow,  and  white  children  of 
other  parts  of  the  earth  who  buy  the  cloth  made  from  our 
cotton  at  home  and  abroad,  so  that  the  whole  world  really 
seems  to  be  tied  together  with  these  cotton  threads.  In 
this  way  the  human  race  by  industry  and  commerce  be- 
comes more  and  more  every  day  like  a  family,  each  member 
of  which  is  always  helping  and  being  helped  by  the  others. 

1.  Locate  the  cotton  belt.    Name  five  states  in  it.     Name  other 
countries  that  produce  much  cotton.     (Page  502.) 

2.  Describe  the  cotton  plant,  and  tell  how  it  is  grown.    From  what 
part  of  our  country  comes  most  of  the  cotton?    What  kind  is  raised  in 
the  far  West,  and  for  what  is  it  used? 

3.  What  inventions  have  had  to  do  with  making  the  cotton  crop 
valuable? 

4.  Visit  a  great  cotton  factory  and  tell  how  thread  and  cloth  are 
made.    What  is  a  spindle?    A  loom?    A  gin?    A  cotton  press? 

5.  To  what  countries  does  much  of  our  cotton  go?    Trace  a  bale 
of  cotton  from  New  Orleans  to  Liverpool;  to  Hamburg;  to  Yoko- 
hama, Japan;  to  Rio  de  Janeiro.    How  far  does  it  travel  in  each  of 
these  voyages?     (Pages  496-497.) 


152  NORTH  AMERICA 

6.  Where  are  the  world's  chief  centers  of  cotton  manufacture? 
Why  does  New  England  make  so  much  cloth?    Why  is  so  much 
made  in  England?     (See  Carpenter's  "Europe.")     Why  is  so  much 
made  in  India?     (For  further  information  about  cotton,  see  Car- 
penter's "How  the  World  is  Clothed,"  chapters  4,  5  and  6.) 

7.  What  is  cottonseed,  and  for  what  is  it  used? 

8.  Make  a  list  of  all  the  things  we  get  from  the  cotton  plant.    Name 
some  part  of  your  clothing  which  is  made  of  cotton.    Describe  its 
travels  and  adventures  from  the  cottonseed  until  it  came  to  you. 


XIX.  ATLANTA,   BIRMINGHAM,  AND   CHARLES- 
TON—THE TURPENTINE   INDUSTRY 

WE  see  many  more  mills  as  we  travel  through  the 
cotton  belt.  The  great  red-brick,  white-windowed 
factories  rise  out  of  the  midst  of  the  plantations,  and  it 
seems  as  though  the  smoke  from  their  stacks  might  pollute 
the  snow-white  bolls  of  the  cotton  now  ready  for  picking. 
Near  each  factory  is  its  mill  village,  consisting  of  one-story 
cottages  of  from  three  to  five  rooms,  and  in  many  a  village 
is  a  brick  schoolhouse,  rising  high  above  the  homes  of  the 
people. 

Part  of  our  traveling  is  done  at  night,  and  we  see  the 
lights  from  the  factory  windows  shining  out  of  the  dark- 
ness. Some  of  the  mills  run  both  day  and  night.  As  we 
go  onward  the  importance  of  the  South  as  an  industrial 
region  grows  upon  us.  We  pass  many  factories  of  one  kind 
or  another  run  by  electricity,  and  finally  come  to  Atlanta, 
the  capital  of  Georgia. 

Atlanta  is  one  of  the  most  thriving  cities  of  our  southern 
states;  it  is  a  commercial  and  manufacturing  center,  and  it 
has  many  beautiful  homes.  It  lies  at  the  base  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  so  high  above  the  sea  that  its  summers  are  delight- 


Airplane  view  of  Atlanta's  chief  business  district. 


154  NORTH  AMERICA 

ful,  and  so  far  south  that  its  winters  are  mild.  We  take  a 
stroll  under  the  old  forest  trees  lining  Peachtree  Street, 
visit  the  house  where  Joel  Chandler  Harris  lived  when  he 
wrote  his  story  of  Bre'r  Rabbit  and  the  Tar  Baby,  and 
then  go  out  on  the  electric  cars  to  see  the  soldiers  drill 
at  Fort  McPherson.  We  visit  also  the  battlefields  where 
some  terrible  fighting  was  done  during  our  Civil  War. 

Atlanta  has  railroads  branching  out  in  every  direction, 
and  we  take  a  train  which  carries  us  in  a  few  hours  to  Bir- 
mingham, Alabama.  Birmingham  is  located  on  an  old 
cotton  plantation,  but  the  city  is  more  famous  for  making 
iron  and  steel  than  for  raising  cotton  or  the  weaving  of  cloth. 
There  is  a  mountain  of  iron  right  in  the  town,  and  the  valley 
in  which  it  lies  has  rich  mines  of  coal.  Near  by  are  beds 
of  limestone,  so  that  the  place  has  all  the  three  important 
materials  needed  for  the  making  of  steel. 

Indeed,  it  is  said  that  steel  can  be  made  more  cheaply  in 
Birmingham  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  We  can 
well  believe  this  when  we  see  the  huge  mills  covering  acres, 
including  blast  funmces  as  big  around  as  a  haystack  and 
as  high  as  a  ten-story  building.  Some  of  the  furnaces  have 
a  capacity  of  two  thousand  tons  of  pig  iron  per  day. 

During  our  stay  we  see  but  little  more  than  the  outside 
of  the  mills,  preferring  to  leave  our  study  of  the  making  of 
steel  until  we  reach  Pittsburgh;  for  it  is  in  and  near  that 
city  that  more  iron  and  steel  are  made  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  perhaps  of  the  world. 

The  southern  states  have  many  important  minerals. 
There  are  deposits  of  iron  and  coal  in  the  Appalachian 
Mountains  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Ten- 
nessee. The  South  has  also  rich  deposits  of  phosphates, 
asbestos,  and  zinc.  It  has  graphite  and  bauxite,  the  mineral 
from  which  aluminum  is  made.  It  has  enormous  water 


BIRMINGHAM 


Steel  mill  at  Birmingham.    The  blast  furnaces,  at  the  left,  turn  the 
ore  into  pig  iron. 

powers  and  it  will  do  more  and  more  manufacturing  as  these 
are  developed. 

Traveling  eastward  from  Birmingham,  we  cross  Georgia 
and  South  Carolina,  and  make  our  next  stop  at  Charleston 
to  visit  Fort  Sumter,  where  the  first  shot  was  fired  at  the 
beginning  of  our  Civil  War.  Charleston  is  built  on  a 
peninsula  at  the  mouths  of  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  rivers, 
and  the  fort  is  on  a  little  island  at  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor  not  far  from  the  shore.  We  take  a  boat  and  row 
out.  The  island  is  surrounded  by  brick  walls  eight  feet 


156  NORTH  AMERICA 

thick  and  about  forty  feet  high,  and  the  grass-covered 
earthworks  on  the  walls  are  still  to  be  seen. 

Charleston  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  of  the  United  States. 
It  has  wide  streets  lined  with  old  mansions,  at  the  sides 
of  which  are  broad  lawns  and  gardens.  Many  of  the 
houses  were  built  in  the  days  of  slavery,  and  back  of  them 
the  cabins  occupied  by  the  slaves  are  still  to  be  seen. 
There  are  many  colored  people  in  and  about  Charleston, 
as  everywhere  else  in  the  South. 

After  a  walk  down  Meeting  Street,  we  visit  Citadel 
Square  and  ride  out  on  the  cars  to  the  Magnolia  Cemetery 
to  see  the  live  oaks  draped  with  Spanish  moss  and  the 
many  beautiful  flowers.  Upon  our  return  we  take  a  stroll 
along  the  Battery,  facing  the  sea. 

Leaving  Charleston,  we  go  south  to  Savannah,  a  thriving 
cotton  port  long  famous  also  as  the  chief  turpentine  and 
rosin  port  of  the  world.  It  is  excelled  in  this  respect  to-day 
by  Jacksonville,  Florida,  but  we  find  its  wharves  are  still 
filled  with  barrels  of  naval  stores,  as  these  things  are 
called,  awaiting  shipment  to  Europe  and  other  parts  of 
the  United  States. 

We  have  all  seen  turpentine  and  rosin.  Turpentine  is  a 
liquid  used  in  mixing  varnish  and  paint.  Rosin  is  es- 
pecially valuable  for  varnish.  It  is  employed  also  in  ship- 
building and  in  the  manufacture  of  munitions  and  paper 
and  soap.  Our  school  desks  are  probably  coated  with  the 
juice  of  these  pine  trees,  and  from  the  same  source  comes 
the  turpentine  used  in  mixing  the  paint  on  this  room. 
Rosin  also  waxes  the  bows  of  violins. 

But  suppose  we  visit  a  turpentine  farm  and  see  how 
turpentine  and  rosin  are  produced.  Both  of  these  things 
come  from  the  sap  of  the  long-leaf  pine  tree,  and  the  farm 
is  a  forest  of  these  trees.  There  are  farms  of  this  kind  all 


THE  TURPENTINE  INDUSTRY 


157 


along  our  south  Atlantic  coast  from  North  Carolina  to 
Florida,  and  farther  west  near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
Louisiana. 

In  harvesting  the  turpentine  crop,  the  workmen  cut  out 
holes  or  boxes  in  the  trunk  of  each  tree  near  the  ground, 
and  then  scar  the  bark  over  it.  The  sap  oozes  out  of  the 
scarred  places  and  drops  into  the  boxes,  where  it  forms  a 
gum  as  thick  as  molasses.  This  gum  is  scooped  out,  put 
into  barrels,  and  carried  to  a  distillery.  There  the  gum  is 


Turpentine  distillery.    The  gum  is  melted  in  the  building  at  the  left. 
The  vapor  passes  off  through  the  pipe  and  condenses  into  turpentine. 

melted  and  the  turpentine  passes  off  in  a  vapor  through 
pipes  kept  cool  by  streams  of  cold  water.  As  the  vapor 
touches  the  pipes  it  condenses  and  turns  to  a  liquid  again 
and  flows  out  as  turpentine.  The  rosin  only  is  left  in  the 
kettle.  It  has  become  thick  by  boiling,  and  when  put  into 
barrels  it  hardens.  It  is  then  ready  for  sale. 
We  are  now  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  great  pine  forest 


CARP.    N.    AMER. — 10 


158  NORTH  AMERICA 

belt  which  runs  from  North  Carolina  parallel  with  the 
coasts  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 
eastern  Texas.  This  belt  is  from  sixty  to  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  wide,  and  it  contains  many  mil- 
lions of  acres  of  valuable  timber.  Every  few  miles  along 
the  railroads  through  it  there  are  sawmills  where  the  trees 
are  being  sawed  into  boards,  and  upon  the  tracks  are  long 
trains  of  lumber  of  various  kinds  on  their  way  to  the  cities 
of  our  eastern  and  central  states. 

The  pine  trees  grow  on  the  sandy  soil  of  these  regions 
where  hard  woods  will  not  thrive.  Hard  woods  are  found 
only  in  the  valleys  and  at  the  north  higher  up  in  the  moun- 
tains .behind  the  pine  belt.  Gum  and  cypress  trees  grow 
in  the  swamps. 

The  southern  pines  are  of  several  well-known  varieties. 
The  long-leaf  or  Georgia  yellow  pine  is  used  largely  for* 
floors  and  the  inside  woodwork  of  houses,  and  the  same  is 
true  of  the  better  grades  of  some  of  the  other  varieties  of 
pines,  such  as  the  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  pines,  and 
of  the  Cuban  pines.  We  are  told,  however,  that  lumber 
is  growing  so  scarce  that  trees  of  almost  every  description 
are  now  being  cut,  and  as  we  see  the  great  quantities 
shipped  we  wonder  whether  in  time  our  woods  will  not 
all  disappear. 

The  southern  states  have  about  two  fifths  of  our  stand- 
ing timber,  but  there  are  now  about  eighteen  thousand 
•sawmills  at  work,  and  it  is  said  that  not  many  years  will 
elapse  before  it  is  all  cut  away.  The  southern  hard  woods 
supply  much  of  the  oak  and  hickory  used  in  the  making 
of  our  furniture,  airplanes,  and  automobiles. 

Our  travels  over  the  railroads  carry  us  for  miles  through 
the  swamps,  of  which  there  are  many  throughout  this 
part  of  the  southern  states.  The  Okefeno'kee  Swamp  of 


Scene  in  Dismal  Swamp,  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.    About  two 
thirds  of  the  swamp  has  been  reclaimed  by  drainage. 


loo  NORTH  AMERICA 

Georgia  has  regions  like  the  jungles  of  tropical  countries, 
and  quagmires  in  which  a  horse  or  a  man  might  sink  out 
of  sight.  The  swamps  contain  many  kinds  of  snakes,  and 
alligators  by  scores  crawl  through  the  muddy  waters  of 
those  bordering  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

1.  Locate  Atlanta.    How  far  is  it  from  New  York?    New  Orleans? 
San  Francisco? 

2.  What  famous  writer  for  children  lived  in  Atlanta?     Tell  the 
story  of  Br'er  Rabbit  and  the  Tar  Baby. 

3.  Locate  Birmingham.    Why  is  it  a  great  steel-making  center? 

4.  What  is  bauxite?    Asbestos?    Zinc?    Graphite?  .Mention  some- 
thing for  which  each  is  used. 

5.  Locate    Charleston.      What    famous   historic   event   occurred 
there? 

6.  Point  out  some  article  of  furniture  in  the  schoolroom  on  which 
turpentine  was  used.    What  other  uses  has  turpentine?    From  what 
region  does  it  come? 


XX.  FLORIDA 

WE  begin  our  travels  this  morning  in  the  land  oi 
flowers.  The  word  "Florida,"  which  means  "Flow- 
ery," was  given  to  this  region  by  its  discoverer,  Ponce  de 
Leon  (pon'thadala-on'),  who  came  here  looking  for  an 
island  which  the  Indians  said  contained  the  fountain  of 
perpetual  youth.  He  found  Florida  so  beautiful  that  he 
called  it  the  Island  of  Florida,  not  knowing  it  was  a  part  of 
the  mainland.  Many  years  later,  in  1565,  the  Spaniards 
founded  St.  Augustine,  the  first  white  colony  on  the  main- 
land of  the  United  States. 

Florida  was  a  Spanish  possession  for  more  than  two 
centuries.  It  was  a  Spanish  colony  when  our  English  col- 
onies gained  their  independence,  and  it  was  not  until  1819 


FLORIDA  161 

that  by  a  treaty  with  Spain  it  became  a  part  of  the 
United  States.  About  that  time  Andrew  Jackson,  who 
afterwards  became  President,  was  commanding  our  soldiers 
in  fighting  the  Seminole  Indians,  and  he  was  made  the 
first  governor.  The  chief  city  of  Florida,  Jacksonville, 
was  named  after  him. 

Florida  is  one  of  the  low  lands  of  our  country.  It  has 
no  hills  as  high  as  the  Washington  Monument,  and  a  great 
part  of  it  is  almost  on  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  state  has 
thirty  thousand  lakes,  and  the  Everglades  in  the  southern 
part  is  a  huge  shallow  fresh-water  lake  larger  than  Connect- 
icut. It  is  filled  with  low,  marshy  islands  and  abounds  in 
fish  and  wild  birds  of  many  kinds.  Much  of  the  marsh  is 
now  being  drained  and  turned  into  orchards  and  farms. 
More  than  half  the  state  is  covered  with  forest,  and  it  has 
some  of  the  best  woodlands  of  the  South. 

The  soil  of  Florida  is  composed  largely  of  lime  and  other 
material  from  the  sea  floor.  In  places  it  is  underlain  with 
beds  of  phosphate  rock,  which  is  among  our  most  valuable 
fertilizers.  The  largest  deposits  of  phosphates  in  the 
world  are  found  here.  Several  million  tons  are  sometimes 
mined  in  a  year,  and  the  rock  aids  our  farmers  greatly  in 
increasing  their  crops. 

Much  of  the  land  is  sandy,  with  spongy  limestone  rock 
underneath.  A  part  has  been  built  up  in  the  sea  by  the 
millions  of  coral  polyps  that  live  in  the  warm  waters  of  this 
part  of  the  world.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula 
where  the  land  drops  out  of  sight  the  polyps  are  still  at 
their  work  of  world  building.  We  see  this  in  the  many  little 
coral  islands  poking  their  heads  up  through  the  waters  and 
forming  the  Florida  Keys,  which  end  in  Key  West. 

The  climate  of  Florida  is  delightful.  The  state  lies  in 
the  tropics,  and  in  the  winter  it  is  warm  when  our  northern 


162  NORTH  AMERICA 

states  are  covered  with  snow.  In  summer  the  heat  is 
tempered  by  the  breezes  from  the  sea.  This  has  caused 
many  of  our  northern  people  to  go  to  Florida  to  escape  the 
cold  winters,  and  some  of  them  have  made  their  homes 
there.  Railroads  have  been  constructed  to  take  care  of  the 
visitors,  and  cities  and  towns  have  grown  up.  Had  we  time 
we  might  ride  on  the  cars  along  the  whole  eastern  coast  of 
Florida,  seeing  fine  homes  almost  all  the  way,  and  finally 
go  out  over  the  coral  islands  to  Key  West,  which  is  only  a 
few  hours  by  steamer  from  Havana  in  Cuba. 

The  latter  part  of  this  trip  we  should  make  on  a  railroad 
built  over  the  sea,  the  Keys  forming  the  foundations  in 
many  blocks.  About  fifty  of  the  Keys  are  inhabited,  and 
the  largest  is  thirty  miles  long.  They  are  coral  islets  which 
extend  in  a  curve  from  the  end  of  the  peninsula  to  Key 
West.  The  channels  separating  the  islands  vary  in  width 
from  a  few  hundred  feet  to  several  miles.  The  water 
between  is  not  deep,  and  concrete  bridges  or  viaducts 
have  been  built  up  for  the  railway,  seventy-five  miles  of 
which  seems  to  rest,  as  it  were,  on  the  water.  One  viaduct 
is  seven  miles  long. 

Key  West  is  an  important  place.  It  is  a  habitable  island 
with  a  well-fortified  harbor,  commanding  the  entrance 
from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Many 
people  on  the  island  are  engaged  in  making  cigars  of  to- 
bacco brought  from  Havana  over  the  way.  Others  catch 
turtles,  and  dive  down  for  the  sponges  found  in  the  waters 
near  by.  There  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  little  sailing 
vessels  in  the  sponge  fleet,  and  they  are  always  coming 
and  going. 

We  have  an  excellent  train  from  Savannah  to  Jackson- 
ville, the  largest  city  and  chief  seaport  of  the  state.  It  lies 
on  the  St.  Johns  River,  which  connects  it  with  the  Atlantic. 


Sponges,  and  bales  of  sponges,  in  a  sponge  warehouse. 
163 


164  NORTH  AMERICA 

We  see  ocean  ships  at  the  wharves  and  also  side-wheel 
boats,  upon  which  we  shall  travel  up  the  St.  Johns  into  the 
heart  of  the  country. 

After  leaving  Jacksonville,  we  steam  for  a  long  distance 
through  what  seems  a  great  lake.  The  St.  Johns  has  been 
called  a  little  Amazon,  and  we  see  why  as  we  go.  The 
river,  which  rises  in  the  southern  swamps  and  flows  north 
almost  parallel  with  the  ocean,  is  in  many  places  more  than 
a  mile  wide.  It  is  lined  with  forests  of  palmetto,  live  oak, 
and  cypress,  the  branches  of  which  are  loaded  with 
Spanish  moss.  This  moss  is  a  sort  of  air  plant  which 
grows  over  the  trees,  hanging  down  from  the  limbs,  and 
in  some  places  almost  reaching  the  water.  Much  of 
the  earth  along  the  banks  is  sandy.  We  miss  the  green 
turf  of  other  parts  of  our  country,  and  although  our  sur- 
roundings are  beautiful  we  long  for  the  velvety  grass  oi 
the  North. 

We  find,  however,  that  every  part  of  the  world  has  its 
own  beauties.  The  wild  flowers  of  Florida  include  many 
that  are  grown  in  northern  hothouses,  and  there  are  hun- 
dreds of  semitropical  plants  not  found  in  the  other  parts  of 
our  country.  In  some  places  we  go  through  jungles  so 
dense  that  we  imagine  ourselves  in  the  hot  lands  of  Africa. 
The  air  is  soft  and  balmy  in  the  evenings  and  mornings, 
but  at  midday  the  sun  is  so  hot  that  we  have  to  keep  under 
cover. 

We  see  curious  birds  on  our  voyage.  Herons  and  buz- 
zards fly  about  overhead;  and  long-legged  cranes  and  big- 
throated  pelicans  stand  in  the  mud  on  the  edge  of  the  river. 
Now  and  then  an  alligator  scrambles  down  the  muddy 
banks  as  it  hears  the  noise  of  the  boat. 

The  streams  which  flow  into  the  St.  Johns  furnish  ex- 
cellent fishing.  Florida  is  one  of  our  best  fishing  grounds. 


FLORIDA 


It  is  the  home  of  the  tarpon,  our  biggest  fish  that  can  be 
caught  with  a  hook.  Many  a  tarpon,  if  stood  upon 
its  tail,  would  be 
as  tall  as  a  man; 
and  some  have  been 
caught  which  weighed 
more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds. 
Tarpon  fishing  re- 
quires a  strong  line. 
The  sportsman  often 
has  to  fight  with  the 
fish  for  hours;  he 
lets  it  run  with  the 
hook  this  way  and 
that  until  it  is  tired 
out  and  at  last  can  be 
dragged  to  the  boat. 
All  together,  Flor- 
ida has  six  hundred 
or  more  different 
species  of  fish  in  its 
waters.  In  addition 
to  the  tarpon,  we 
learn  that  shad,  mul- 
let, mackerel,  trout, 
red  snappers,  and 
even  turtles  and  oys-  Tarpon  over  six  feet  long,  weighing  215 
ters  are  caught  in  pounds, 

large  numbers  and  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Hundreds  of  fishing  vessels  are  engaged  in  the  work,  and 
more  than  three  million  dollars'  worth  of  fish  has  been 
taken  from  these  waters  in  one  year. 


166  NORTH  AMERICA 

XXI.  A  VISIT  TO  AN  ORANGE  GROVE 

AS  we  travel  up  the  St.  Johns  we  learn  that  this  region 
±\.  is  the  chief  winter  fruit  and  market  garden  for  sup- 
plying the  cities  and  towns  of  the  North.  We  see  many 
orchards  and  gardens  where  trucking  is  done.  Florida 
raises  large  quantities  of  early  tomatoes,  millions  of  water- 
melons and  muskmelons,  and  about  four  million  bushels  of 
sweet  potatoes  a  year.  It  gives  New  York  and  Boston 
their  early  strawberries,  and  produces  also  guavas,  Japanese 
persimmons,  and  plums.  It  has  many  lime,  lemon,  and 
grapefruit  trees,  while  its  two  leading  fruit  crops  are  oranges 
and  pineapples. 

We  have  to  go  some  distance  south  to  reach  the  best 
orange  districts.  There  are  oranges  in  all  parts  of  the  state, 
but  in  the  north  the  fruit  is  sometimes  spoiled  by  frost. 

The  orange  orchard  we  visit  lies  on  the  banks  of  the 
Indian  River.  We  have  no  trouble  in  getting  a  permit  to  see 
it.  Oranges  are  as  common  here  as  apples  are  in  New 
England,  and  the  men  tell  us  to  go  in  among  the  trees  and 
pick  all  we  can  eat. 

How  delicious  the  fruit  tastes  when  fresh  from  the  tree! 
It  is  more  juicy  than  any  we  can  buy  in  the  stores.  How 
full  the  trees  are !  Some  are  so  loaded  that  the  golden  balls 
shine  out  everywhere  through  the  emerald  green  leaves. 
Single  trees  sometimes  bear  as  many  as  five  thousand 
oranges  a  year. 

We  ask  the  owner  of  the  grove  to  tell  us  how  oranges  are 
grown.  He  replies  that  the  trees  have  to  be  planted  and 
cultivated  five  or  ten  years  before  they  come  into  bearing, 
and  adds  that  certain  trees  have  been  known  to  be  still 
producing  fruit  when  more  than  one  hundred  years  old. 

The  orange  crop  is  important.    We  produce  one  third  of 


A  VISIT  TO  AN  ORANGE  GROVE 


167 


Strawberry  pickers.     Much  of  this  fruit  is  sent  North. 

all  the  oranges  grown  in  the  world,  and  there  are  none  more 
delicious  than  those  of  Florida  and  California.  Hundreds 
of  millions  of  oranges  are  eaten  in  the  United  States  every 
year.  We  import  some  from  Sicily,  and  also  from  the 


168  NORTH  AMERICA 

West  Indies,  but  our  best  oranges  are  from  our  own 
country. 

In  Florida  also  we  have  lemonade  made  from  fruit  fresh 
from  the  tree,  and  pick  grapefruit,  which  we  eat  sweetened 
with  sugar.  Lemons  and  grapefruit  grow  much  like  oranges. 
The  grapefruits  are  usually  twice  as  large  as  a  large  orange; 
they  are  of  a  pale  lemon  color,  and  look  beautiful  as  they 
hang  on  the  trees. 

In  southern  Florida  we  see  many  coconut  groves  and  pine- 
apple plantations.  The  coconut  comes  from  a  palm  tree 
which  thrives  near  the  seacoast.  It  begins  to  bear  when 
from  nine  to  twelve  years  old,  and  a  good  tree  may  have  as 
many  as  one  hundred  coconuts  on  it. 

Pineapples  grow  upon  the  ground  not  unlike  cabbages. 
They  are  planted  during  the  months  of  July,  August,  and 
September,  at  which  time  slips  or  suckers  taken  from  the 
old  pineapples  are  set  out  in  the  ground  about  twenty 
inches  apart.  This  is  so  close  that  ten  thousand  or  more 
can  be  grown  on  one  acre.  If  the  plants  are  carefully 
cultivated,  at  the  end  of  twenty  months  the  fruit  is  ready 
to  ship.  The  pineapples  are  often  picked  green  and  allowed 
to  ripen  while  on  their  way  to  the  markets.  Those  we  eat 
here  in  Florida  have  ripened  on  the  ground,  and  they  are 
far  more  delicious  than  any  we  have  ever  tasted  before. 

Most  of  southern  Florida  is  wilderness.  One  can  ride  for 
hundreds  of  miles  in  boats  through  the  swamps,  and  one 
may  have  a  shot  at  a  bear,  a  wildcat,  or  a  deer.  When  we 
go  swimming  we  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  alligators, 
and  we  shall  not  be  safe  in  some  parts  of  the  Everglades 
without  guns  in  our  hands. 

1.  By  whom  was  Florida  discovered?   To  whom  did  it  belong  before 
it  came  to  the  United  States? 

2.  How  far  is  Jacksonville  from  New  York?     How  far  is  Key 


Grapefruit  in  a  Florida  orchard. 
169 


170 


ACROSS  THE  GULF  OF  MEXICO  171 

West   from   New   Orleans?     From  Havana,   Cuba?     (Map,   fron- 
tispiece.) 

3.  What  states  border  Florida  on  the  north?    What  ocean  on  the 
east?    What  gulf  on  the  west?    What  other  great  peninsula  is  in  the 
United  States?    Compare  it  in  size  with  Florida. 

4.  What  valuable  characteristics  has  the  soil  of  Florida?    What  is 
much  of  the  rock  underneath?    What  little  animals  made  it?    What 
are  phosphates,  and  for  what  are  they  used? 

5.  Make  a  trip  to  Key  West.    Describe  the  railway  and  tell  what 
you  see.    Why  is  Key  West  important  to  the  defense  of  our  country? 

6.  Mention  some  of  the  chief  products  of  Florida.    What  kinds  of 
fruit  has  it?    How  are  they  grown? 

7.  What  is  the  chief  river  of  Florida?    In  which  direction  does  it 
flow?    Describe  your  trip  on  it.    Why  is  it  not  safe  to  swim  in  some 
of  the  Florida  waters? 


XXII.  ACROSS  THE  GULF  OF  MEXICO  TO  NEW 
ORLEANS  —  THE  MISSISSIPPI  JETTIES 

WE  shall  now  cross  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  River  and  steam  up  that  stream  for 
about  one  hundred  miles  to  the  city  of  New  Orleans. 
The  Gulf  of  Mexico  does  not  look  large  on  the  map,  but  its 
eastern  and  western  shores  are  farther  apart  in  places  than 
are  New  York  and  Chicago,  and  the  same  is  true  of  its 
northern  and  southern  limits.  The  area  of  the  Gulf  is 
almost  one  fourth  as  great  as  that  of  the  main  body  of  the 
'United  States.  Our  best  route  will  be  north  along  the  coast 
from  Tampa  to  Mobile,  and  thence  west  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  and  up  the  river  to  New  Orleans. 

We  stay  only  a  few  hours  at  Tampa  and  Mobile.  Both 
ports  have  excellent  harbors,  and  they  have  a  great  trade  in 
cotton,  lumber,  and  naval  stores,  which  are  shipped  to  Eu- 
rope and  to  the  West  Indies  and  South  and  Central  America. 


172  NORTH  AMERICA 

We  enter  the  Mississippi  .River  through  the  mouth 
known  as  the  South  PassrThe  Mississippi  has  several 
mouths,  into  which  the  mighty  stream  divides  in  passing 
through  its  wide  delta.  The  land  here  has  been  built  up 
during  the  ages  by  the  earth  washings  brought  down  by 
the  river,  and  we  find  the  stream  so  loaded  with  mud  that  it 
discolors  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  far  out  from  the  mouths  of 
the  river.  It  is  estimated  that  the  Mississippi  brings 
down  enough  soil  every  year  to  make  an  island  a  mile 
square  and  several  hundred  feet  high. 

One  might  think  this  silt  would  so  fill  the  channels  that 
ships  could  not  possibly  pass.  And  so  it  would  if  the 
currents  were  not  strong  enough  to  carry  the  mud  far  out 
into  the  depths  of  the  Gulf. V  As  it  is,  the  silt  has  built  up 
great  bars  in  front  of  most  of  the  mouths,  so  that  large 
vessels  cannot  make  their  way  through. 

Our  steamer  crosses  one  of  these  bars  through  the  channel 
formed  by  the  Mississippi  River  jetties.  These  jetties 
were  constructed  by  Captain  James  B.  Eads  in  order  that 
the  current  might  cut  out  and  keep  clear  a  channel  from  the 
deep  waters  of  the  Mississippi  near  New  Orleans  to  the 
Gulf. 

Captain  Eads  sounded  the  Gulf  and  found  deep  water 
just  beyond  the  bars.  He  believed  that  if  he  could  narrow 
the  channel  the  current  of  water  passing  through  would  be 
swift  and  strong  enough  to  carry  its  load  of  mud  far  out 
into  the  Gulf,  and  at  the  same  time  cut  a  deep  channel 
through  the  bar.  He  laid  his  plans  before  Congress,  and 
was  given  the  money  to  carry  them  out.  They  proved  a 
success,  and  there  is  now  a  channel  several  hundred  feet 
wide  and  over  thirty  feet  deep  through  which  the  big  ships 
from  the  ocean  can  safely  enter  the  broad  Mississippi. 

But  what  are  the  jetties,  and  how  are  they  made?    They 


THE  MISSISSIPPI  JETTIES  173 

are  wide  walls  built  up  from  the  bed  of  the  river  on  each 
side  of  the  channel.  They  were  made  by  driving  long  rows 
of  piles  or  tree  trunks  down  into  the  bed  of  the  river,  so 
that  they  formed  two  thick  walls  inclosing  the  channel  and 
running  from  the  end  of  the  land  through  the  water,  across 
the  sandbars,  and  on  into  the  Gulf.  The  piles  were  driven 
into  the  mud  to  a  depth  of  thirty  feet  so  that  the  walls 
might  be  strong. 

But  piles  alone  were  not  sufficient.  Closely  built  em- 
bankments were  needed,  but  these  had  to  be  made  in  the 
sea.  How  do  you  think  this  was  done?  Captain  Eads 
harnessed  the  river  and  made  it  do  much  of  the  work.  He 
had  his  workmen  cut  millions  of  willows  and  tie  them 
together  into  great  rafts,  which  were  floated  in  among 
the  piles,  and  then  loaded  with  heavy  stones  and  gravel 
until  they  sank  to  the  bottom.  Other  rafts  were  then 
floated  just  over  these,  and  sunk  the  same  way,  until  at 
last  they  had  thick  piles  and  walls  of  willows  and  stone 
on  each  side  of  the  channel  reaching  far  out  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Then  the  silt-laden  Mississippi,  as  it  flowed  through  the 
willows  and  rocks,  dropped  enough  mud  to  fill  up  the 
spaces,  and  thus  solid  walls  were  created  on  each  side  of 
the  channel.  By  these  walls  the  waters  of  the  river  are 
confined  in  so  small  a  space  that  they  keep  moving  and 
carry  their  burden  of  mud  far  out  into  the  Gulf. 

We  pass  many  vessels  as  we  sail  through  the  jetties,  and 
they  increase  in  number  as  we  come  into  the  Mississippi 
and  approach  New  Orleans.  We  go  by  steamers  filled  with 
bales  of  cotton  and  grain  and  other  merchandise  on  their 
way  to  Europe.  New  Orleans  is  one  of  our  chief  cotton 
ports,  and  also  one  of  the  chief  grain  ports  of  the  South. 
The  grain  is  loaded  from  an  elevator  which  covers  many 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 11 


174  NORTH  AMERICA 

acres,  and  is  two  hundred  feet  high.  The  grain  is  taken 
from  the  cars  or  ships  which  bring  it  in  from  the  farms  at 
the  rate  of  two  hundred  thousand  bushels  per  day,  and 
pumped  into  the  storage  bins  of  the  elevator,  from  which 
it  can  be  poured  into  the  ocean  steamers  so  quickly  that  a 
ship  is  loaded  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  thousand  bushels 
per  hour.  This  elevator  was  built  by  the  state  of  Louisiana. 
In  the  state  warehouse  near  by  we  shall  see  men  loading 
corn. 

As  we  move  up  the  Mississippi  we  can  see  for  miles  over 

xthe  country.     In  many  places  the  land  is  lower  than  the 

^     surface  of  the  river,  and  everywhere  the  land  along  the 

banks  has  been  built  up  to  keep  back  the  water.     The 

high  banks  are  called  lev'ees.    Upon  some  of  them  orchards 

and  gardens  are  growing. 

Almost  the  whole  of  New  Orleans  lies  so  far  below  the 
level  of  the  Mississippi  that  walls  as  high  as  a  two-story 
house  have  been  built  to  keep  out  the  water  when  the 
floods  come.  For  a  long  time  there  were  but  few  spots  in 
the  city  where  one  could  dig  without  striking  water  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  surface.  The  ground  was  soaked  almost 
to  the  grass  roots,  and  a  big  rain  sent  rivers  flowing  through 
some  of  the  streets.  The  whole  city  seemed  to  float,  as 
it  were,  on  a  swamp. 

. /  To-day~Qie~gf6und  beneath  New  Orleans  is  kept  almost 

as  dry  as  a  bone.  An  immense  drainage  system  has  been 
constructed,  and  the  water  flows  off  into  low-level  canals, 
from  which  it  is  pumped  out  into  canals  higher  up,  and  in 
that  way  carried  off  into  Lake  Pontchartrain,  whence  it 
flows  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Formerly,  there  could  be 
no  cellars  on  account  of  the  water,  and  in  the  cemeteries 
the  graves  were  built  above  ground.  It  was  difficult  to 
make  good  foundations,  and  the  city  was  squatty.  To- 


NEW  ORLEANS  175 

day,  it  has  many  large  buildings,  although  no  skyscrapers 
such  as  we  saw  in  New  York. . 

But  let  us  climb  to  the  roof  of  the  grain  elevator  and  take 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  city.  We  are  high  above  the 
surface  of  the  Mississippi,  which  winds  its  way  in  and  out 
through  the  wide  expanse  of  buildings  below  us,  like  a 
mighty  yellow  boa  constrictor,  and  is  lost  in  the  green 
fields  at  the  south.  Looking  more  closely,  we  can  see 
railway  trains  flying  along,  on  two  iron  bands  girdling  the 
heart  of  the  city.  Those  bands  are  the  public  belt  railway, 
which  enables  the  freight  of  many  railways  to  be  brought 
in  and  unloaded  at  the  doors  of  the  warehouses  at  very 
small  cost.  The  belt  line  connects  with  every  railway 
system  that  comes  to  this  gateway  of  the  ocean. 

Now  take  your  spyglass  and  sweep  it  around  over  the 
city.  The  old  buildings  are  low  on  account  of  the  water- 
soaked  lands  of  the  past,  and  it  is  only  those  near  the 
river  that  are  of  great  height.  Back  from  the  stream  are 
beautiful  homes  of  two  and  three  stories,  and  in  the  old 
French  quarter  we  see  that  the  houses  are  crowded  along 
narrow  streets  with  galleries  running  from  block  to  block. 

The  grain  elevator  upon  which  we  are  standing  compares 
in  size  with  those  of  Duluth  or  Chicago,  and  near  it  is  the 
state  cotton  warehouse,  which  covers  one  hundred  acres. 
It  handles  a  million  bales  of  cotton  a  year,  and  some  day, 
will  be  able  to  store  one  sixth  of  all  the  cotton  raised  in  our 
country. 

Coming  down  from  the  roof  of  the  elevator  we  take 
automobiles  and  ride  through  the  streets.  New  Orleans 
is  much  like  a  European  city,  and  we  hear  many  languages 
spoken  as  we  stop  here  and  there.  The  city  first  belonged 
to  the  French,  and  a  little  later  the  Spaniards  owned  the 
town  and  much  of  our  country  northwest  of  the  Gulf  of 


176 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Bales  of  cotton  ready  for  shipment,  at  the  New  Orleans  warehouse. 

Mexico.  At  that  time  New  Orleans  was  the  chief  Spanish 
town  of  the  New  World.  Later  still  the  territory  again 
came  into  the  possession  of  France,  and  in  1803  it  was  sold 
to  us  by  the  French  Emperor  Napoleon  for  fifteen  million 
dollars.  By  that  Louisiana  Purchase,  as  it  is  called,  we 
acquired  most  of  the  land  between  the  Mississippi  River 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  great  part  of  our  future 
travels  are  to  be  in  that  region. 

During  our  War  of  1812  New  Orleans  was  attacked  by 
a  British  army  of  twelve  thousand,  which  was  defeated 
by  General  Andrew  Jackson  with  six  thousand  Americans. 
The  battle  lasted  only  a  short  time,  when  the  British  fled, 
leaving  about  two  thousand  killed  and  wounded  behind 
them. 

In  some  parts  of  New  Orleans  there  is  as  much  French 
spoken  as  English.  Let  us  visit  the  French  market.  It 


NEW  ORLEANS 


177 


is  not  far  from  Canal  Street,  the  chief  business  highway. 
Many  of  the  marketmen  are  French,  Spanish,  or  Italian, 
and  those  who  are  buying  use  a  strange  jargon  in  making 
their  bargains.  At  some  of  the  stalls  vegetables  are  sold 
by  the  lot  and  not  by  the  bushel,  peck,  or  quart.  They 
are  arranged  upon  tables  in  piles,  and  each  marketman  fixes 
the  price  of  his  piles.  The  buyers  take  those  they  think 
are  the  biggest  and  cheapest. 

Leaving  the  market  we  make  a  tour  of  the  wharves. 
The  water  front  is  about  forty  miles  long,  and  the  municipal 
docks  reach  seven  miles.  The  city  has  five  miles  of  great 
warehouses,  and  its  arrangements  for  handling  cargoes  are 


Loading  cotton  for  export.    New  Orleans  is  one  of  the  chief  cotton 
ports  of  the  world. 


178  NORTH  AMERICA 

as  good  as  those  of  any  port  in  our  country.  It  has  eleven 
trunk  lines  of  railway,  and  the  Mississippi  system  includes 
thousands  of  miles  of  navigable  waters.  Grain,  cotton, 
and  other  products  come  in  chiefly  by  rail,  but  some  in 
river  steamers  and  barges,  and  many  ocean  vessels  are 
always  going  out  through  the  jetties  carrying  these  products 
to  Europe.  At  the  same  time  coffee,  sugar,  bananas,  and 
other  products  are  coming  in  from  South  and  Central 
America,  and  we  have  to  watch  our  steps  to  keep  out  of  the 
way  of  the  stevedores.  There  comes  a  huge  motor  truck 
loaded  with  cotton.  It  is  driven  by  a  burly  negro,  who  sits 
high  up  in  the  air  almost  surrounded  by  the  bales.  Let 
us  follow  it  and  see  how  the  pressing  is  done. 

The  truck  goes  through  the  narrow  streets  not  far  from 
the  banks  of  the  river  and  finally  stops  at  the  state  ware- 
house. Here  the  bales  are  rolled  off  and  weighed  before 
pressing.  Each  bale  now  takes  up  about  as  much  space  as 
an  ordinary  kitchen  table.  It  is  as  high  as  our  shoulders 
and  about  three  feet  square.  It  has  already  been  squeezed 
by  the  machinery  of  the  plantations  into  as  small  a  package 
as  was  possible  without  the  use  of  the  great  cotton  press. 

There  comes  a  bale  now  about  to  be  pressed.  The  man 
wheeling  it  in  has  already  cut  the  iron  hoops  with  which 
it  was  bound,  and  the  cotton  swells  out  as  though  taking  a 
breath  of  relief.  It  swells  more  and  more  as  it  is  thrown 
into  the  huge  iron  jaws  of  the  press.  Now  the  engineer 
pulls  a  lever  and  the  steel  jaws  move  towards  each  other. 
They  are  operated  by  electricity,  and  the  force  is  so  great 
that  the  size  of  the  bale  is  reduced  to  less  than  half  what  it 
was  when  it  left  the  plantation.  Then  it  weighed  only  four- 
teen pounds  to  the  cubic  foot  and  it  now  weighs  thirty-four 
pounds.  The  iron  straps  are  fastened  around  it  as  it  lies 
in  the  press,  and  when  it  comes  out  it  is  ready  to  be  stored 


A  VISIT  TO  A  SUGAR  PLANTATION  179 

away  in  the  warehouse  or  taken  to  the  hold  of  a  steamer. 
Such  pressing  is  necessary  in  order  to  increase  the  number 
of  bales  that  can  be  stowed  away  in  one  shipload. 


XXIII.  A  VISIT  TO  A  SUGAR  PLANTATION 

HAVE  you  a  sweet  tooth?  If  so,  you  must  be  careful 
in  your  travels  with  us  to-day.  We  are  now  in  the 
hot,  moist  lands  about  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  from  which 
much  of  our  cane  sugar  comes.  In  the  western  part  of  our 
country  we  make  sugar  from  beets,  and  we  also  import 
beet  sugar  from  Europe.  We  bring  in  cane  sugar  by  the 
shipload  from  Cuba  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  we 
make  some  on  the  plantations  here  in  Louisiana. 

There  are  scores  of  such  plantations  within  a  few  hours' 
ride  of  New  Orleans,  and  we  have  an  invitation  to  visit  one 
of  the  largest.  The  plantation  is  so  big  that  it  has  railroads 
to  carry  the  cane  from  the  fields  to  the  factory,  and  it 
employs  so  many  people  that  their  houses  make  a  large 
village.  The  buildings  of  its  refinery  cover  several  acres. 

Leaving  New  Orleans,  we  pass  through  swamps  whose 
trees  are  loaded  with  Spanish  moss,  and  then  go  for  miles 
through  fields  of  tall  sugar  cane.  Now  and  then  we  see  the 
smoke  of  a  huge  mill  streaming  out  against  the  blue  sky, 
and  at  last  we  stop  at  the  station  on  the  estate. 

The  manager  gives  us  horses  for  a  gallop  over  the  planta- 
tion before  we  look  at  the  mill.  There  are  roads  through  the 
fields,  and  we  ride  between  walls  of  green  cane.  The  leaves 
of  the  stalks  rise  above  our  heads  as  we  sit  on  our  horses. 
Some  of  the  cane  is  fifteen  feet  high  and  the  rows  are  so 
close  together  that  were  it  not  for  the  roads  it  would 


i8o  NORTH  AMERICA 

be  almost  impossible  for  us  to  make  our  way  through 
them. 

But  before  we  go  farther,  let  us  stop  and  learn  how  the 
sugar  cane  is  grown.  The  crop  looks  like  corn,  but  the  cane 
planting  is  not  like  corn  planting.  Corn  is  raised  from 
seed  grains,  and  it  is  planted  in  the  spring.  Sugar  cane 
may  be  planted  in  either  fall  or  spring;  and  instead  of  seed 
grains,  little  pieces  of  ripe  stalks  are  laid  flat  in  furrows 
that  run  from  one  side  of  the  field  to  the  other.  The  stalks 
are  so  laid  that  they  fit  close  together,  three  being  placed 
side  by  side,  making  three  long  rows  or  pipes  of  cane  in 
each  furrow.  Next,  the  soil  is  thrown  over  the  cane  with  a 
plow,  and  the  planting  is  done.  By  and  by,  in  the  spring, 
sprouts  start  up  from  each  joint  of  the  cane,  making  long 
ribbons  of  green  against  the  black  soil.  The  sprouts  grow 
rapidly,  and  by  August  they  are  as  tall  as  a  man.  They 
continue  to  grow  until  the  middle  of  October,  when  they 
are  about  twice  as  high  as  the  average  corn  stalk  and  are 
ready  for  cutting.  This  is  the  height  of  the  cane  at  the 
time  of  our  visit. 

We  stay  for  a  while  at  a  place  where  scores  of  men  and 
women  are  cutting  the  cane.  They  labor  in  squads  under 
an  overseer;  and  as  they  stand  in  the  fields  they  face  what 
looks  like  a  solid  wall  of  green.  Each  has  a  knife,  which 
flashes  in  the  sunlight  as  he  cuts  his  way  through  the  wall. 

See  how  carefully  they  work!  Not  a  motion  is  wasted. 
The  sweetest  juice  is  in  the  lower  part  of  the  cane,  and  for 
that  reason  they  cut  it  off  close  to  the  ground.  They  also 
strip  off  the  leaves  and  cut  off  the  top  of  one  cane  before 
they  go  on  to  the  next.  After  cutting,  the  stalks  are  thrown 
into  piles  ready  to  be  taken  in  carts  to  the  cars. 

There  is  a  loaded  train  ready  to  move.  Let  us  jump  on 
and  go  with  it.  On  our  way  to  the  mill  we  cross  large 


Cultivating  a  field  of  young  sugar  cane  in  Louisiana, 
grown  the  cane  will  be  twice  as  high. 
181 


When  full 


1 82  NORTH  AMERICA 

canals.  The  plantation  was  at  one  time  a  swamp,  and  the 
land  had  to  be  drained  before  the  cane  could  be  planted. 
We  have  already  learned  how  much  work  it  takes  to  grow 
cane.  We  are  now  about  to  see  the  wonderful  machinery 
required  to  get  the  juice  out  and  turn  it  to  sugar. 

Our  car  stops  at  one  of  a  group  of  large  buildings.  The 
cane  is  thrown  off  upon  a  moving  belt  which  carries  it  to 
the  top  of  the  big  mill,  and  drops  it  down  upon  two  heavy 
steel  rollers,  each  as  large  around  as  a  hogshead  and  much 
longer.  They  have  teeth  much  like  those  of  an  enormous 
file.  As  the  cane  falls  upon  the  rollers,  the  teeth  catch 
hold  of  it  and  pull  it  in  between  them,  and  their  weight  is 
such  that  the  juice  is  squeezed  out,  so  that  when  the  cane 
comes  out  it  is  as  dry  as  a  last  year's  cornstalk.  It  is  so  dry 
that  it  burns  readily  and  can  be  used  for  fuel.  It  falls  upon 
a  moving  belt  which  carries  it  into  the  furnaces  that  run 
the  mill. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  juice?  Let  us  go  under  the 
rollers  and  see.  It  is  pouring  down  from  them  in  streams 
into  a  trough  about  a  foot  wide.  We  dip  in  our  fingers  and 
taste  the  liquid  as  it  falls  from  the  cane.  It  is  so  sweet  it  is 
sickening.  It  looks  dirty,  and  reminds  us  of  dishwater. 
Still,  out  of  this  sweet,  dirty  water  the  pure  white  sugar 
will  come.  But  every  bit  of  dirt  must  first  be  taken  out, 
and  it  must  be  made  as  clear  as  crystal  before  it  is  boiled 
down  into  sugar. 

The  sweet  liquid  is  first  carried  by  pipes  into  large  iron 
tanks,  where  it  is  bleached  by  running  sulphurous  acid  gas 
through  it.  The  gas  makes  it  bubble,  and  a  yellow  foam 
rises  to  the  top  and  is  skimmed  off.  Lime  is  now  put  into 
the  tank  to  settle  the  dirt  and  remove  the  acid.  After 
several  such  processes,  the  juice  becomes  clear. 

The  sweet  liquid  is  now  ready  for  boiling.    This  is  done 


Sacks  of  raw  sugar.    The  sugar  will  be  refined  and  sent  all  over  the 
United  States. 


How  lump  sugar  is  made.    These  cakes  of  sugar  are  being  dried,  after 
which  they  will  be  cut  into  small  pieces. 

183 


184  NORTH  AMERICA 

in  vats  or  tanks  heated  by  coils  of  steam  pipe.  The  liquid 
is  skimmed  as  it  boils.  It  flows  from  one  tank  to  another, 
growing  clearer  and  clearer,  and  thicker  and  thicker.  Taste 
it  now.  It  is  the  purest  of  sirup,  and  its  color  has  turned  to 
a  light  yellow. 

Look  at  the  sirup  as  it  seethes  in  the  tank!  What  an 
enormous  amount  there  is  of  it!  There  is  enough  here  to 
give  the  children  of  a  whole  state  a  taffy  pulling.  At  the 
left  is  one  big  tank  which  contains  forty  thousand  pounds  of 
sirup,  all  boiling  and  seething  in  the  process  of  being  made 
into  sugar. 

Come  with  me  now  to  that  huge  vat  where  the  boiling 
has  turned  the  sirup  almost  to  sugar.  The  vat  is  twice  as 
long  as  our  parlor  at  home,  and  so  deep  that  if  we  fell  in  we 
should  be  drowned  in  the  mixture.  Let  us  take  up  a  spoon- 
ful. It  is  as  thick  as  mush,  and  in  fact  is  a  mush  of  molasses 
and  sugar. 

It  needs  now  only  the  centrifugal  drying  machine  to  take 
out  the  sugar.  In  this  process  the  mixture  is  whirled  round 
at  great  speed,  being  thrown  against  the  fine  meshes  of  the 
sievelike  vessel  in  which  it  is  placed,  and  the  molasses 
passes  through,  leaving  only  the  yellowish  white  crystals  of 
sugar.  This  is  raw  sugar,  ready  to  be  packed  up  in  bags  or 
barrels  and  shipped  to  the  markets. 

In  the  larger  refineries  the  purifying  of  the  sugar  is  carried 
still  further.  The  sugar  water  is  filtered  through  tanks  of 
charred  bones  ground  to  a  powder.  •  It  is  washed  and 
filtered  again  and  again  and  is  heated  in  such  a  way  that 
the  sugar  grains  become  pure  white  and  all  the  same  size. 

The  coarser  sugars  are  not  so  carefully  refined,  but  most 
of  our  fine  sugar  is  made  in  this  way. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  molasses?  This  word,  as  used 
in  the  refinery,  means  the  refuse  left  after  making  the  sugar. 


A  SUGAR  PLANTATION— RICE  FIELDS  185 

It  contains  the  poorest  parts  of  the  juice  when  all  the  sugar 
possible  has  been  taken  from  it.  Such  molasses  is  different 
from  that  sold  as  sirup,  which  is  made  from  the  fine  juice  of 
the  cane.  The  refuse  molasses  is  so  cheap  that  it  some- 
times brings  as  little  as  one  cent  a  gallon.  Then  it  does  not 
pay  to  put  it  into  barrels,  for  the  barrels  would  be  worth 
more  than  the  molasses;  and  so  it  is  carried  to  the  markets 
in  tank  cars  and  sold  largely  in  bulk.  Much  of  it  is  used  for 
feeding  cattle  and  horses. 

Leaving  the  sugar  refinery,  our  next  journey  will  be  to  see 
how  rice  is  raised.  The  regions  near  by  are  noted  for  pro- 
ducing rice  as  well  as  sugar.  Indeed,  Louisiana  raises  more 
of  this  grain  each  year  than  any  other  state,  its  annual 
product  being  about  twenty  million  bushels,  or  enough  to 
give  a  pound  of  rice  to  two  thirds  of  all  the  people  in  the 
world  and  leave  some  to  spare. 

Rice  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  grains.  It  originated  in 
India,  and  was  eaten  by  the  Chinese  thousands  of  years 
before  Christ.  For  ages  it  has  been  the  chief  bread  food  of 
Asia,  and  it  takes  the  place  of  bread  in  the  Philippines,  the 
Dutch  East  Indies,  and  many  other  islands  of  the  Pacific. 
Rice  grows  well  in  Siam,  Burma,  Egypt,  and  almost  all 
other  tropical  countries.  It  was  not  produced  in  our 
country,  however,  before  1694.  At  that  time  a  ship  from 
Madagascar,  loaded  with  rice,  was  driven  by  a  storm  into 
the  port  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  the  captain 
left  some  of  the  grain  with  one  of  the  citizens,  who  planted 
it  in  a  low  place  in  his  garden.  A  big  crop  was  the  result, 
and  within  a  short  time  rice  became  one  of  the  chief  prod- 
ucts of  that  part  of  the  United  States.  The  crop  was 
first  grown  in  the  lowlands  of  the  coastal  plain  in  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  here  and  there  along  the  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  but  later  large  rite  plantations  were 


RICE   FIELDS  187 

laid  out  in  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Texas,  and  California,  and 
nearly  all  of  our  crop  now  comes  from  these  four  states. 

The  rice  field  which  we  visit  is  almost  ready  for  harvest. 
As  we  come  near  the  fields  the  yellow  grain  makes  us  think 
of  wheat,  but  we  see  that  the  straw  is  different  and  that  the 
heads  are  not  at  all  like  those  of  any  grain  raised  in  the 
North.  The  plants  seem  to  grow  in  the  water,  and  we  are 
told  that  the  best  rice  is  raised  where  the  ground  can  be 
flooded.  The  crop  must  have  also  the  hot  sun,  and  this 
land  with  its  hot  moist  air  and  rich  wet  soil  is  just  right  for  it. 

As  we  go  through  the  fields  we  learn  how  rice  is  raised. 
Mud  walls  or  banks  are  built  up  about  the  fields  to  hold  in 
the  water.  The  land  is  broken  up  with  gang  plows  drawn 
by  horses  or  steam  or  gasoline  tractors,  and  nearly  every- 
thing connected  with  the  crop  is  done  by  machinery.  The 
seed  is  sown  by  means  of  drills,  and  then  the  land  is  flooded, 
the  water  being  pumped  in  with  steam  engines  that  lift 
tens  of  thousands  of  gallons  per  hour.  Within  a  short  time 
the  sprouts  "come  out  of  the  ground  and  poke  their  tiny 
green  heads  up  through  the  mirror-like  surface.  The  water 
remains  on  the  fields  until  the  rice  is  nearly  ready  for  cut- 
ting. The  straw  is  then  yellow,  and  the  heavy  grains  pull 
the  heads  over. 

The  water  is  drawn  off,  and  the  rice  is  harvested  like 
wheat  and  oats.  The  stalks  are  cut  and  shocked  in  the 
fields,  and  then  threshed  to  get  out  the  grain.  When  oats 
and  wheat  are  threshed  the  grain  is  ready  for  use.  When 
rice  is  threshed,  the  process  of  preparing  it  for  the  market 
has  only  begun.  Each  little  kernel  has  a  hull,  which  does 
not  come  off  in  the  threshing,  but  sticks  as  tight  as  though 
it  were  glued.  Before  the  rice  can  be  sold,  the  hulls  must  be 
removed.  This  is  done  by  hulling  machines.  As  the  rice 
comes  out  of  the  machines  it  is  rough,  and  most  of  it  is 


188  NORTH  AMERICA 

rubbed  and  polished  before  it  is  sent  to  the  market,  although 
its  food  value  is  lessened  by  this  process. 

Some  of  our  rice  is  raised  on  high  lands  without  flooding. 
This  is  known  as  upland  rice.  It  is  grown  in  almost  the 
same  way  as  wheat  and  oats  are  grown  in  the  North. 

1.  Locate  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.    Compare  it  in  size  with  Hudson 
Bay.    The  Great  Lakes.    The  United  States.     What  states  border 
upon  it? 

2.  Describe  the  Mississippi  jetties  and  tell  why  they  were  built. 

3.  Locate  New  Orleans.     Make  a  trip  through  the  city  and  tell 
what  you  see.    Why  are  cotton  presses  necessary? 

4.  If  we  had  not  made  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  what  would  be  the 
United  States  of  to-day? 

5.  Visit  a  cane  sugar  plantation  and  describe  it.    A  sugar  mill. 

6.  From  what  plants  does  most  of  our  sugar  come?     Where  is 
most  of  our  cane  sugar  raised?    (For  further  information  about  sugar 
see  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Fed,"  pages  328-343.)     What 
countries  of  the  world  lead  in  producing  cane  sugar?    Beet  sugar? 
(See  pages  501,  502.) 

7.  Visit  a  rice  plantation  and  tell  what  you  see.     How  did  rice 
first  come  to  North  America?    Where  are  the  chief  rice  lands  of  the 
world?    (See  page  501.)    For  what  is  rice  used? 

8.  Trace  a  cargo  of  rice  from  Bombay  to  New  York,  by  two  differ- 
ent routes,  going  east  and  west.    From  Manila  to  New  Orleans.    In 
each  case,  how  far  does  the  rice  travel?    Over  what  oceans?    Through 
what  important  canals  or  straits?     (For  further  information  about 
rice  see  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Fed,"  chapter  7.) 


XXIV.  THE  SOUTHWESTERN  STATES— A  GREAT 
SALT  MINE 

BEFORE    starting    on    our    trip    up    the    Mississippi 
River,  we  shall  make  a  short  run  along  the  shores  of 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  through  Louisiana  and  Texas,  and  then 
go  northward  into  Oklahoma,  returning  by  rail  through 


THE  SOUTHWESTERN  STATES  189 

Arkansas  and  Louisiana  to  New  Orleans.  The  four  south- 
ern states  west  of  the  lower  Mississippi  are  one  of  the  most 
interesting  parts  of  our  country.  They  comprise  more  than 
four  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  square  miles.  Louisiana 
is  nearly  as  large  as  New  York,  Oklahoma  is  about  twice 
the  size  of  Indiana,  and  Arkansas  almost  as  large  as 
Illinois. 

As  for  Texas,  it  is  more  than  twice  the  size  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  larger  than  either  Germany  or  France,  and 
twice  as  big  as  the  Italian  peninsula.  It  is  about  as  large  as 
New  England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky  combined.  The 
state  is  so  big  that  if  it  could  be  tipped  up  and  turned  over 
to  the  north,  it  would  reach  nearly  to  Canada;  or  if  turned 
up  with  the  Rio  Grande  as  a  base,  and  let  fall  towards  the 
south,  it  would  blot  out  most  of  the  republic  of  Mexico. 
Tipped  to  the  east  a  part  of  it  would  fall  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  and  to  the  west  it  would  touch  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

These  four  states  contain  some  of  the  best  soil  of  the 
world.  Louisiana  leads  all  the  states  in  the  production  of 
sugar  cane  and  rice,  and  Texas  leads  all  the  states  in  its 
crops  of  cotton.  Oklahoma  and  Arkansas  are  each  rich  in 
cotton  and  corn,  and  Texas  has  more  cattle  than  any  other 
state.  At  Fort  Worth,  its  chief  packing  center,  several 
million  head  of  live  stock  are  killed  every  year.  The  warm 
lands  along  the  western  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  northward  to  Galveston  are  a 
great  winter  garden  from  which  tens  of  thousands  of  car- 
loads of  fruit  and  vegetables  are  sent  every  year  to  the 
cities  of  the  North,  and  northern  Texas  and  Oklahoma  have 
large  crops  of  wheat,  much  of  which  goes  to  Galveston  for 
export  to  Europe. 

This  region  has  also  huge  forests  of  long-leaf  pine  trees, 

CARP.   N.   AMER. — 12 


IQO  NORTH  AMERICA 

from  which  lumber  is  exported  to  Central  and  South  Amer- 
ica, and  even  to  Europe.  It  has  deposits  of  petroleum, 
sulphur,  and  salt  which  are  unsurpassed  by  those  of  any 
other  part  of  our  country. 

Leaving  New  Orleans  on  the  Southern  Pacific  railway, 
we  go  westward  over  the  lowlands  which  form  a  part  of  the 
delta  of  the  Mississippi.  We  pass  through  sugar  planta- 
tions where  gangs  of  negroes  are  plowing  the  cane,  and 
cross  rice  fields  where  the  green  plants  seem  to  float  like 
emeralds  on  the  silvery  water. 

Our  first  stop  is  in  one  of  the  great  bird  homes  of  the 
world.  During  the  winter  enormous  numbers  of  birds 
from  the  North  fly  to  the  warm  marshes  along  the  Gulf 
coast,  where  they  feed  for  a  season,  making  nests  and  raising 
their  young.  They  inhabit  the  shores  of  the  Gulf,  and 
especially  the  islands  near  by  which  have  been  turned  into 
bird  reservations  where  nobody  is  permitted  to  hunt. 
There  nests  have  been  made  for  the  birds,  and  they  breed 
by  the  million.  Some  of  them  are  so  tame  that  they  wiU 
eat  from  our  hands. 

Under  the  marshy  lowlands  along  the  coast  of  Louisiana 
and  Texas  lie  some  of  the  great  salt  beds  of  the  world. 
The  salt  rock  is  below  what  are  called  islands,  but  are  really 
huge  mounds  of  earth  rising  a  few  feet  above  the  marshy 
lowlands  surrounding.  These  islands  are  often  long  dis- 
tances apart,  but  they  extend  for  hundreds  of  miles  along 
the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  some  of  them  holes 
have  been  sunk  with  diamond  drills  to  a  depth  of  from 
five  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet  to  learn  the  character  of 
the  deposits  beneath.  Under  many  of  the  mounds  the 
salt  beds  are  so  thick  that  the  bottom  has  never  been 
reached.  Texas  has  four  mounds  under  which  the  salt  is 
known  to  be  more  than  one  thousand  feet  thick,  and  there 


Mine  tunnels  cut  out  of  the  solid  salt  rock. 


Salt  rock  as  it  is  brought  out  of  the  mine. 
191 


I92  NORTH  AMERICA 

is  one  which  the  state  geologist  estimates  to  contain  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  million  tons  of  rock  salt. 

The  salt  deposit  which  we  shall  explore  is  supposed  to 
contain  so  much  salt  that  if  it  all  could  be  brought  up  and 
distributed  among  the  people  there  would  be  a  two-horse 
wagonload  for  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  world. 
The  amount  is  two  billion  tons.  The  mine  is  situated  under 
Avery  Island,  not  far  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  west  of  New  Orleans. 

Leaving  the  railway  station,  we  climb  a  hill  and  come  to 
the  shaft  house  at  the  entrance  to  the  mine.  We  enter  the 
elevator,  the  bell  rings,  and  we  drop  down  the  shaft  into  a 
darkness  so  thick  it  can  almost  be  felt.  Descending  five 
hundred  feet,  we  stop  at  a  great  tunnel  lighted  by  elec- 
tricity. The  salt  rock  begins  almost  at  the  surface,  and 
the  shaft  has  been  cut  through  solid  salt. 

The  tunnel  in  which  we  now  stand  is  cut  through  salt. 
The  walls  sparkle  like  diamonds  under  the  electric  rays,  and 
the  white  roof  seems  to  be  frosted  silver.  We  climb  on  a 
car  and  ride  through  the  tunnel  into  the  mine,  passing 
chamber  after  chamber  of  enormous  extent,  all  cut  out  of 
salt.  The  floors,  walls,  and  ceilings  are  white,  and  we  seem 
to  be  in  a  huge  palace  of  snow.  Some  of  the  chambers  are 
twice  as  large  as  a  schoolroom,  and  their  ceilings  are  as  high 
•as  the  roof  of  a  six-story  building.  They  were  once  solid 
rock  salt,  which  has  been  blasted  out,  taken  up  the  shaft 
to  the  surface,  and  there  ground  up,  to  be  shipped  to  the 
markets.  The  floor  is  covered  with  salt  and  our  feet  sink 
down  into  salt  almost  to  the  shoe  tops. 

The  roofs  are  upheld  by  pillars  of  salt,  each  forty  feet 
thick.  We  stand  beside  one  of  these  pillars  and  watch  the 
miners  at  work.  Many  of  them  are  colored,  and  their 
dark  skins  shine  out  in  contrast  with  their  brilliant  surround- 


A  GREAT  SALT  MINE  193 

ings.  They  are  shoveling  the  salt  into  the  cars,  and  starting 
it  on  its  way  to  "the  shaft. 

There  comes  a  car  now.  It  contains  three  tons  of  this 
glistening  white  rock.  As  we  wait,  we  take  out  our  knives 
and  chip  some  lumps  off  the  white  wall.  They  look  like 
pieces  of  quartz  or  rock  candy.  The  salt  crystals  are  of 
different  sizes,  some  as  small  as  a  pea  and  others  as  large  as 
our  fists.  Some  of  the  blocks  blasted  out  are  so  big  that 
they  must  be  broken  with  sledges  before  they  can  be  loaded 
on  the  cars.  We  lick  the  lumps  we  have  clipped  off.  They 
taste  just  like  the  salt  we  have  on  our  tables,  and  we  are 
told  that  this  rock  is  almost  pure  salt. 

As  we  continue  our  travels  we  shall  find  salt  mines  and 
salt  wells  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  We  have 
salt  wells  in  New  York  and  Michigan,  and  also  in  Kansas, 
Ohio,  and  elsewhere.  The  brine  from  these  wells  is  brought 
to  the  surface  and  evaporated.  A  great  deal  of  salt  is 
obtained  by  evaporating  water  from  San  Francisco  Bay,  and 
in  Utah  there  are  millions  of  tons  lying  on  the  shores  and 
in  the  waters  of  Great  Salt  Lake.  We  have  so  much  salt, 
in  fact,  that  we  shall  always  have  enough  for  our  tables  and 
plenty  left  over  for  cattle  and  for  the  many  manufactures 
in  which  salt  is  used.  One  of  the  largest  salt  beds  of  the 
world  outside  the  United  States  is  not  far  from  Krakow  in 
Poland.  We  shall  see  it  when  we  travel  in  Europe. 


XXV.  TEXAS  — WE  VISIT  THE  SULPHUR  MINES 

WE  are  in  Texas  this  morning.    Leaving  the  salt  mines, 
we  have  visited  the  port  of  Gal'veston,  where  the 
sea  is  held  back  by  a  great  wall;  and  then  the  thriving 
city  of  Houston  (hus'tun),  and  now  we  have  come  south  to 


-I 


194 


WE  VISIT  THE  SULPHUR  MINES  195 

Freeport,  where  the  Brazos  River  flows  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  Here  is  another  huge  mound  somewhat  similar  to 
that  under  which  we  found  the  bed  of  salt.  The  mound  is 
only  twenty-three  feet  above  the  surrounding  country, 
and  at  first  sight  it  seems  to  be  only  a  hill.  It  is  a  hill, 
but  it  crowns  a  treasure  vault  greater  than  the  cave  of 
Aladdin.  Under  the  mound,  far  down  below  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  lie  vast  deposits  of  sulphur,  from  which  large 
quantities  of  this  mineral  are  taken  each  year.  The  sulphur- 
bearing  rock  is  more  than  five  hundred  feet  below  the 
ground,  while  the  men  and  machinery  that  do  the  mining 
are  all  at  the  surface. 

Before  showing  us  how  this  can  be,  the  manager  of  the 
mines  gives  us  some  information  about  sulphur  and  how  it 
is  brought  from  the  heart  of  the  earth  and  prepared  for  the 
use  of  man.  He  takes  up  a  lump  of  the  mineral.  It  is  of  a 
light  yellow  color  and  as  hard  as  stone.  When  he  touches  a 
match  to  it,  it  gives  forth  blue  brimstone  flames,  which 
make  us  cough,  and  remind  us  of  Vesuvius  and  other  vol- 
canoes of  which  we  have  read. 

The  manager  tells  us  that  sulphur  is  employed  in  all  high 
explosives,  and  that  a  large  part  of  the  ammunition  used 
by  our  soldiers  in  the  World  War  was  made  with  the  aid 
of  sulphur  found  in  these  mines.  He  says  that  sulphur 
forms  the  basis  of  many  of  the  fertilizers  upon  which  we 
rely  for  our  food  supply,  and  that  it  helps  to  make  one  of  the 
best  sprays  for  destroying  the  insect  pests  of  our  orchards. 
It  is  used  also  in  the  bleaching  of  paper,  and  thus  has  a  part 
in  almost  every  newspaper,  magazine,  and  book  that  is 
printed.  The  paper  of  this  book  is  made  from  wood  pulp, 
and  sulphur  was  used  to  make  the  paper  white  enough  for 
the  printers.  Sulphur  is  a  necessity  in  refining  petroleum, 
and  it  is  employed  also  in  refining  sugar  and  in  the  making 


196  NORTH  AMERICA 

of  rubber.  Indeed,  sulphur  is  used  in  so  many  different  in- 
dustries that  we  should  find  it  hard  to  get  along  without  it. 

In  the  past  most  of  our  sulphur  came  from  the  island  of 
Sicily.  It  was  dug  out  from  the  slopes  of  Mount  Etna, 
from  deposits  created  by  the  eruptions  of  that  great  volcano. 
At  the  same  time  we  were  getting  some  sulphur  from  Japan 
and  Mexico,  all  of  which  was  taken  either  from  the  craters 
of  dead  volcanoes  or  from  beds  near  by. 

This  was  the  situation  when  it  was  discovered  that  there 
was  a  great  bed  of  sulphur,  similar  to  the  one  here  at  Free- 
port,  lying  about  five  hundred  feet  under  the  marshy 
lands  and  quicksands  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  near  Lake 
Charles  in  Louisiana.  For  a  long  time  the  people  tried  to 
mine  this  sulphur,  but  the  ground  was  so  marshy  that  they 
could  not  reach  it  by  shafts.  It  lay  there  until  a  chemist 
named  Herman  Frasch  conceived  the  idea  of  sinking  pipes 
into  the  sulphur  and  forcing  through  them  water  so  hot 
that  it  would  melt  the  mineral,  which  as  a  liquid  could 
then  be  forced  by  compressed  air  through  other  pipes  to 
the  surface.  Frasch  made  many  experiments,  and  as  a 
result  wells  were  drilled  down  into  the  sulphur  rock,  and 
huge  hot-water  plants  and  pumping  plants  were  erected, 
by  which  the  mineral  thus  treated  was  brought  to  the 
surface.  The  sulphur  rock  at  Freeport  is  much  the  same  as 
in  Louisiana,  and  about  the  same  processes  of  mining  are 
used. 

The  manager  of  the  mines  takes  us  first  to  the  hot-water 
plant.  The  great  buildings  are  filled  with  huge  boilers, 
which  heat  from  eight  to  twelve  million  gallons  of  water 
a  day.  The  fuel  is  petroleum,  which  is  consumed  at  the 
rate  of  four  or  five  thousand  barrels  every  day.  It  is 
brought  in  tank  steamers  from  the  oil  fields  about  Tampico 
(tam-pe'ko)  in  Mexico. 


Hardened  sulphur  inside  a  bin.    Most  of  the  sulphur  block  has  a 

smooth  surface.    This  mound  was  formed  under  the  pipe  through 

which  the  liquid  sulphur  comes. 

197 


IQ8  NORTH  AMERICA 

As  we  go  by  the  boilers  we  are  able  to  look  into  the 
furnaces  and  see  the  flames  under  them.  The  heat  is  so 
intense  that  the  water  is  raised  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
degrees  above  the  boiling  point.  It  is  then  pumped  down 
into  the  ground  through  pipes  at  a  pressure  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  to  the  square  inch. 

Leaving  the  hot-water  plant,  we  go  to  the  place  where  the 
sulphur  is  pouring  forth  from  the  earth  into  a  walled  in- 
closure  covering  about  one  acre.  The  walls  are  of  thick 
planks,  and  they  are  built  higher  and  higher  as  the  sulphur 
pours  in.  Just  now  they  are  as  high  as  our  heads. 

We  climb  up  and  look  in.  The  inclosure  is  half  filled  with 
a  bed  of  light  yellow  sulphur,  and  from  a  pipe  over  the 
center  is  flowing  a  stream  of  boiling  liquid  which  looks  like 
clear  cider.  It  is  sulphur  that  has  been  melted  in  the  bed 
five  hundred  feet  below,  and  then  forced  up  through  a  pipe. 
The  liquid  is  so  thin  that  it  spreads  easily  over  the  yellow 
mass.  As  it  cools  it  hardens  and  becomes  solid  sulphur 
like  that  lying  beneath.  It  was  in  this  way  that  all  the 
sulphur  inside  the  inclosure  was  built  up  from  the  floor. 

As  the  liquid  continues  to  flow,  the  surface  of  the  sulphur 
bed  will  continue  to  rise,  and  the  walls  of  plank  about  it 
will  be  built  higher  and  higher  until  they  are  forty  feet 
from  the  ground.  When  this  inclosure  is  filled,  the  plank 
walls  will  be  taken  away  and  put  around  another  inclosure, 
into  which  the  sulphur  will  pour.  The  mass  of  sulphur 
remaining  will  then  be  a  huge  block  the  color  of  a  canary 
bird  when  fresh  from  a  bath.  It  will  have  a  base  of  an  acre, 
the  height  of  a  four-story  house,  the  cubic  contents  of  a 
large  office  building,  and  will  weigh  tens  of  thousands  of 
tons.  All  this  will  be  pure  sulphur,  and  it  will  have  only 
to  be  blasted  down  by  dynamite,  and  loaded  by  steam  shov- 
els on  the  cars  waiting  to  carry  it  to  the  ships  in  which  it 


WE  VISIT  THE  SULPHUR  MINES  199 

is  sent  to  the  markets.  There  are  several  of  these  yellow 
blocks  near  the  one  we  see  in  the  process  of  making,  and 
from  some  of  them  the  sulphur  is  now  being  shipped. 

The  beds  of  sulphur  at  Freeport  are  said  to  cover  about 
five  hundred  acres.  Together  with  the  deposits  in  Louisiana, 
they  supply  so  much  sulphur  that  we  now  produce  almost 
all  we  consume,  and  are  able  to  export  this  mineral  to  other 
parts  of  the  world. 

1.  What  four  southern  states  lie  west  of  the  Mississippi  River? 
How  large  are  they?    Compare  each  in  size  with  your  own  state. 

2.  Compare  the  area  of  the  four  states  with  that  of  the  United 
States.    Compare  Texas  with  the  United  Kingdom.    With  Germany. 
With  France.    With  New  England. 

3.  Name  the  chief  products  of  these  states.    Trace  on  the  map  the 
route  of  a  shipload  of  fruit  from  Galveston  to  the  city  of  New  York. 
How  far  does  it  travel? 

4.  Why  do  birds  come  to  Louisiana  for  the  winter? 

5.  Describe  your  trip  through  a  salt  mine.    Mention  other  parts  of 
the  United  States  where  salt  is  produced.    Trace  a  shipment  of  salt 
from  Avery  Island  to  your  home. 

6.  Write  a  story  of  a  pinch  of  salt,  telling  where  it  comes  from  and 
how  it  is  used.    Let  the  salt  tell  the  tale.    (See  Carpenter's  "  How  the 
World  is  Fed,"  chapter  47.) 

7.  Locate  the  sulphur  mines  of  Texas  and  Louisiana. 

8.  Name  some  of  the  uses  of  sulphur.    Tell  how  sulphur  is  mined  in 
Texas.    In  Sicily.     (See  Carpenter's  "Australia  and  the  Islands  of 
the  Sea,"  page  311.) 


XXVI.  OUR  GREAT  FIELDS  OF  PETROLEUM 

T3EFORE  making  our  next  journey  let  us  find  out 
-D  about  another  valuable  product  that  lies  far  down 
under  the  ground.  This  is  petroleum.  The  name  comes 
from  two  Greek  words  meaning  rock  oil,  for  petroleum  is 
really  an  oil  from  the  rock.  It  lies  in  beds  of  porous  rock 


200 


NORTH  AMERICA 


in  most  cases  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  more  belo.v  the  surface 
of  the  earth.     Sometimes  there  is  gas  above  the  oil,  and 

sometimes  water  below  it, 
but  the  oil,  gas,  and  water 
are  held  down  so  tightly 


by  the  mass  of  denser  rock 
overhead  that  they  cannot 
get  out.  Indeed,  the  pres- 
sure is  often  so  great  that 
when  wells  are  bored  down 
through  the  rock  overhead, 
the  oil  and  gas  burst  forth 
in  a  terrible  explosion,  send- 
ing the  heavy  tools  and  other 
machinery  used  for  drilling 
high  into  the  air  and  creat- 
ing a  fountain  of  oil  that 
sometimes  extends  to  a 
height  greater  than  that  of 
the  highest  building  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  If  the 
flow  is  not  checked  by  put- 
ting a  cap  over  the  pipe,  the 
well  covers  all  the  surround- 
ing country  with  petroleum. 
The  oil  coats  the  streams, 
and  the  cattle  will  not  drink 
the  water.  It  soaks  the 
ground  and  sprays  the  trees 
and  plants  with  a  coating  of 
grease. 

Some  years  ago  one  of  the 
richest  oil  wells  of  the  world 


Diagram  showing  layers  of  rock, 

two  of  which  contain  gas,  oil,  and 

water. 


OUR  GREAT  FIELDS  OF  PETROLEUM 


201 


An  oil  "gusher."    The  pressure  is  so  great  that  the  petroleum  is 

sent  hundreds  of  feet  into  the  air.    Derricks  like  those  at  the  left 

are  used  in  drilling  the  wells. 

was  struck  near  Tampico  in  Mexico,  not  far  from  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  The  oil  gushed  forth  so  rapidly  that  it  SOOD 
reached  the  fire  of  the  engine,  and  the  great  fountain  be- 
came a  mass  of  flames  fifty  feet  wide  and  more  than  a 
thousand  feet  high.  It  made  such  a  bright  light  that  it 
was  seen  by  ships  in  the  Gulf  one  hundred  miles  off,  and 
newspapers  could  be  read  at  night  seventeen  miles  away. 
That  well  was  struck  on  the  fourth  of  July,  and  it  was  the 
greatest  fourth  of  July  celebration  on  record.  The  oil 
burned  for  two  months  at  the  rate  of  from  sixty  thousand 
to  seventy-five  thousand  barrels  per  day,  and  when  the 
fire  was  put  out  the  oil  flowed  forth  so  rapidly  that  a 


202  NORTH  AMERICA 

reservoir  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long  was  made  by  banking  up 
the  earth  near  by  to  contain  it.  This  great  well  was  later 
surpassed  by  one  near  Tuxpam  (toos'pam),  Mexico,  which 
yielded  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  barrels  of  petro- 
leum a  day.  In  other  wells  the  pressure  is  not  so  great, 
and  in  some  the  oil  has  to  be  pumped  to  the  surface. 

The  history  of  this  wonderful  product  is  very  interesting. 
Petroleum  was  known  to  the  ancient  Greeks,  Romans, 
and  Persians,  but  it  was  not  used  commercially  until  oil 
wells  were  drilled  in  our  own  country  about  the  time  of 
the  Civil  War.  Before  that  the  only  artificial  light  came 
from  candles  of  tallow  or  wax,  or  little  wicks  of  cloth  or 
fiber  floating  in  saucers  of  lard  or  sperm  oil.  This  was  so 
even  in  the  oil  regions,  where  now  and  then  little  pools  of 
petroleum  had  seeped  forth  and  lay  upon  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  About  the  only  use  of  this  oil  was  as  a  medicine. 
The  Indians  used  it  for  rheumatism  and  sore  throat,  and 
to  make  their  hair  grow.  But  the  farmers  thought  it 
injured  their  land,  and  one  man  who  lived  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania oil  country  sold  his  farm  and  moved  to  Canada  be- 
cause the  oil  spoiled  the  drinking  water  for  his  cattle. 
When  men  began  to  drill  oil  wells,  that  farm  brought  a 
fortune. 

It  was  near  Titusville,  Pennsylvania,  that  the  first  oil 
well  was  bored.  That  was  in  1858.  The  man  who  made 
the  experiment  was  Colonel  E.  L.  Drake.  He  thought 
that  the  oil  on  top  of  the  ground  proved  that  there  must 
be  a  great  quantity  of  oil  below.  When  he  reached  the 
depth  of  sixty-nine  feet,  the  petroleum  gushed  forth  at 
the  rate  of  thirty-five  barrels  a  day,  and  when  other  wells 
were  sunk  near  by,  more  and  more  oil  came  forth.  It  was 
found  that  the  oil  could  be  refined  and  used  for  lighting. 
Lamps  were  made  for  it,  and  a  great  business  sprang  up 


OUR  GREAT  FIELDS  OF  PETROLEUM  203 

in  producing  and  refining  petroleum.  It  was  soon  found 
that  the  real  source  of  the  oil  was  much  farther  down, 
and  the  depth  of  the  wells  was  gradually  extended  until 
there  are  now  many  that  go  from  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to 
more  than  a  half  mile  below  the  surface.  There  is  an  oil 
well  in  West  Virginia  which  is  more  than  a  mile  deep. 

As  new  uses  for  petroleum  were  created,  men  traveled 
all  over  the  world  looking  for  oil,  and  new  fields  were  dis- 
covered. Since  then  we  have  found  petroleum  in  so  many 
different  parts  of  the  United  States  that  we  now  produce 
about  two  thirds  of  all  the  oil  that  comes  from  the  earth. 
In  1918  that  one  product  was  worth  as  much  as  all  the  gold 
and  silver  mined  by  the  whole  world  in  that  year;  and 
since  Colonel  Drake  sank  his  first  well  we  have  taken  out 
about  eight  hundred  million  tons  of  petroleum  from  the 
wells  of  the  United  States.  This  is  enough,  at  forty  tons 
to  the  car  and  forty  feet  to  each  car  on  the  track,  to  fill  a 
solid  train  of  oil  cars  six  times  as  long  as  the  distance 
around  the  world  at  the  equator. 

Next  to  the  United  States  in  the  rank  of  oil  producers, 
come  Mexico  and  Russia,  and  after  them  the  Dutch  East 
Indies,  India,  Persia,  and  some  territory  in  Europe  at  the 
foothills  of  the  Carpathian  Mountains.  Some  petroleum 
has  been  found  in  Canada,  some  in  Peru,  Colombia,  and 
other  parts  of  South  America,  and  a  little  in  Egypt;  but 
so  far  as  is  known  a  large  part  of  the  oil  of  the  world  lies 
in  different  parts  of  the  United  States. 

Our  petroleum  is  found  here  and  there  from  the  Appa- 
lachian Mountains,  where  oil  was  first  discovered,  to  south- 
ern California  on  the  edge  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  far-off  Alaska.  We  have  ten  valua- 
ble oil  fields.  The  Appalachian  field  takes  in  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  southeastern  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  Kentucky, 


204  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  Tennessee.  The  Lima-Indiana  field  is  in  western 
Ohio  and  eastern  Indiana,  and  the  Illinois  field  is  in  the 
southern  part  of  that  state.  Going  westward  we  find  the 
Mid-Continent  oil  field  in  Kansas  and  Oklahoma,  and 
then  come  the  fields  of  northern  Texas  and  northern 
Louisiana  and  those  of  the  Gulf,  where  we  are  now.  In 
the  Rocky  Mountains  we  have  another  oil  region  com- 
prising parts  of  Wyoming,  Montana,  Colorado,  Utah,  and 
New  Mexico,  and  there  is  also  a  rich  field  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia, where  as  much  as  one  hundred  million  barrels  have 
been  taken  out  in  one  year.  The  Alaska  field  has  not 
been  developed,  but  that  territory  has  places  where  the  pe- 
troleum oozes  out  of  the  ground,  and  it  is  thought  it  may 
have  rich  oil  deposits. 


XXVII.  TRAVELS  IN  THE  OIL  REGIONS  — HOW 
KEROSENE  AND  GASOLINE  ARE  MADE 

EAVING  Freeport,  we  motor  back  to  Houston  and 
find  oil  being  taken  out  within  a  few  miles  of  that 
city.  We  travel  northward,  passing  other  oil  wells,  and 
enter  Oklahoma,  which  is  one  of  the  chief  oil-producing 
states  of  the  Union.  The  city  of  Tulsa,  which  in  1900 
was  only  a  village,  began  to  grow  as  soon  as  petroleum  was 
discovered  near  by.  It  now  has  tens  of  thousands  of  people 
with  fine  homes,  and  office  buildings  ten  or  fifteen  stories 
in  height,  all  founded  on  oil.  Here  we  visit  the  wells  and 
tank  farms,  and  then  move  southward  through  the  oil 
fields  of  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  until  we  reach  Port 
Arthur,  Texas,  where  are  great  oil  refineries  almost  on  the 
shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  this  long  journey  we  have  been  able  to  see  how  pe- 


TRAVELS  IN  THE  OIL  REGIONS 


205 


troleum  is  brought  forth  from  the  depths  of  the  earth  and 
transported  to  the  refineries  where  it  is  prepared  for  the 
uses  of  man.  In  an  oil  field,  wells  are  drilled  to  find 
just  where  the  petroleum  lies  and  to  bring  it  to  the  surface. 
Except  by  drilling  no  one  can  tell  where  the  oil  is,  and 
many  wells  are  bored  which  give  no  oil  at  all.  In  others 
the  oil  does  not  flow  without  pumping. 

Taking  care  of  the  oil  is  one  of  the  great  problems  of 
our  oil  supply.  It  is  carried  away  from  the  wells  in  pipes 
which  run  along  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  huge  steel 
tanks,  one  of  which  may  hold  as  much  as  fifty  thousand 
barrels  or  more.  From  the  bottom  of  these  tanks  are  other 
pipes,  some  of  which  run  for  hundreds  of  miles  to  refining 
centers  on  the  seaboard  or  elsewhere.  Great  pipe  lines 
connect  the  oil  fields  of  Oklahoma  with  the  Atlantic  sea- 


Fifty  thousand  barrels  of  petroleum  on  fire  near  Beaumont,  Texas. 

CARP.   N.   AMER. — 13 


206  NORTH  AMERICA 

board  by  way  of  Illinois,  passing  through  one  oil  field  or 
another  until  they  reach  the  ocean.  Other  pipe  lines  run 
from  Oklahoma  to  Port  Arthur  and  to  Baton  Rouge  (bat'un 
roozh')-  A  vast  network  of  pipes  connects  the  Appalachian 
fields  with  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

The  pipes  used  to  carry  the  oil  are  of  iron.  They  range 
in  size  from  two  to  twelve  inches,  but  the  most  common 
sizes  are  from  six  to  ten  inches.  Along  each  pipe  line  at 
intervals  from  fifteen  to  thirty  miles  are  pumping  stations 
where  powerful  pumps  force  the  oil  onward.  The  crude 
petroleum  is  transported  also  in  tank  cars,  but  most  of 
such  cars  are  used  in  moving  the  oil  after  it  has  been 
turned  into  kerosene  or  gasoline,  or  fuel  or  lubricating  oils. 
For  transportation  by  sea,  tank  steamers  are  largely 
used,  and  the  petroleum  is  sometimes  pumped  from  the 
wells  directly  into  ships  which  carry  it  to  the  refineries. 

A  large  part  of  the  crude  petroleum  produced  in  the 
southwestern  states  comes  in  pipes  to  Beaumont  (bo'mont) 
and  Port  Arthur.  It  is  stored  here  in  tank  farms,  great 
collections  of  steel  tanks  which  store  the  oil  until  the 
refineries  are  ready  to  use  it.  These  farms  are  generally 
elevated  above  the  refineries,  with  which  they  are  con- 
nected by  other  pipe  lines  so  that  all  that  is  necessary  is  to 
open  the  pipes  and  let  the  oil  flow  to  where  it  is  needed. 

Before  we  go  through  the  refineries,  we  should  know 
something  of  the  most  important  things  they  produce. 
The  raw  material  is  this  crude  petroleum,  and  the  manu- 
factured goods  are  the  gasoline  which  runs  our  automobiles 
and  gas  engines;  the  kerosene  which  still  makes  a  large 
part  of  the  light  of  the  world;  the  fuel  oil  which  runs  the 
greatest  ships  of  our  navy  and  merchant  marine  and  moves 
the  trains  on  many  of  our  railroads;  and  the  lubricating 
oil  which  forms  the  grease  that  helps  the  industrial  world 


KEROSENE  AND   GASOLINE  207 

to  go  around.  One  does  not  often  think  of  lubricating  oil 
as  an  important  product  of  petroleum,  but  it  is  used  in 
every  kind  of  machinery  from  the  tiniest  wrist  watch  to 
the  biggest  steam  engine.  It  is  necessary  for  every  loco- 
motive and  dynamo,  for  our  woolen  and  cotton  mills,  and 
for  our  airplanes,  battleships,  and  submarines.  In  addi- 
tion are  the  minor  products  of  petroleum,  such  as  benzine, 
vaseline,  paraffin,  road  oil,  and  asphalt.  Indeed,  so  many 
things  are  made  by  the  refineries  that  we  cannot  mention 
them  all. 

But  here  we  are  at  the  refinery.  It  is  one  of  many  sit- 
uated near  Port  Arthur,  within  a  rifle  shot  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  and  at  what  might  be  called  the  spigot  of  the  pipe 
lines  which  pump  in  tens  of  thousands  of  barrels  of  petro- 
leum from  the  great  oil  fields  of  the  Southwest  every  day. 
The  plant  we  visit  covers  hundreds  of  acres,  and  over  a 
thousand  acres  more  are  hidden  by  oil  tanks.  It  is  much 
like  a  city,  as  it  is  divided  into  blocks  and  streets  along 
which  the  refining  goes  on.  Some  of  the  buildings  are  filled 
with  stills,  where  the  oil  is  heated  to  a  vapor  and  then  passed 
through  cold  water  to  condense  it  into  separate  products. 
Other  streets  are  lined  with  ovens  as  high  as  a  two-story 
house,  and  some  of  the  ovens  are  so  large  that  a  train  of 
cars  could  be  run  through  them  and  not  touch  the  walls. 

Here  and  there  is  a  tank  farm  in  the  heart  of  the  city. 
The  tanks  are  of  different  sizes.  The  large  ones  are  for 
fuel  and  lubricating  oils,  and  the  smaller  ones  for  kerosene 
and  gasoline.  Each  is  connected  with  pipes  which  run  to 
the  port  so  that  almost  any  product  of  the  refinery  can  be 
put  into  the  ships  by  pumps  or  by  gravity.  The  kerosene 
and  gasoline  tanks  are  painted  white.  This  is  that  they 
may  not  absorb  the  rays  of  the  sun,  which  in  this  semi- 
tropical  climate  might  cause  an  explosion.  Sometimes  a 


208 


NORTH  AMERICA 


tank  catches  fire.  The  oil  bursts  forth  in  great  quantities 
of  flame  and  smoke,  and  blazing  rivers  of  fire  flow  over  the 
landscape. 

Going  through  the  refinery,  we  follow  the  crude  petro- 
leum through  the  many  processes  necessary  to  fit  it  for  the. 
various  products.  The  work  is  largely  one  of  distilling. 


q-ut— \— H  f-i— i— U-tl  fl-l_F:L-H  hUM-H  i — TTi 


Pumping  Station  in 

Pipeiine  Transportation. 


The  oil  is  heated  and  part  of  it  is  turned  into  a  vapor  which 
is  sent  through  coil  after  coil  of  pipes  bedded  in  huge  vats 
of  cold  water.  As  the  vapor  touches  the  cold  pipes  it  con- 
denses and  flows  out  as  a  new  product.  The  oil  is  then 
heated  further,  and  another  part  is  vaporized  and  con- 
densed into  another  product.  The  new  products  may  be 
heated  more  gradually  and  distilled  again  into  products 
more  carefully  separated. 


KEROSENE  AND  GASOLINE  209 

Kerosene  is  distilled  to  make  gasoline,  and  the  gasoline 
also  is  refined  before  it  is  ready  for  sale.  During  these 
processes  the  oils  are  washed  again  and  again  with  soap  and 
water  to  take  out  their  impurities. 

In  making  lubricating  oil  the  petroleum  is  run  through 
hot  water  and  cold  water,  and  in  the  making  of  paraffin 
the  oil  has  to  be  frozen  as  well  as  boiled.  In  some  of  the- 
processes  the  petroleum  and  its  products  are  treated  with 
chemicals,  including  sulphuric  acid,  made  from  such 
sulphur  as  we  saw  mined  at  Freeport. 

During  our  trip  through  the  oil  fields,  we  have  passed 
towns  whose  streets  seemed  to  be  filled  with  torchlight 
processions.  A  second  look  showed  us  that  the  torches 
are  stationary,  and  that  each  is  a  round  black  pipe  out  of 
which  comes  a  waving  flame.  This  flame  is  produced  by 
the  natural  gas  that  flows  from  the  depths  of  the  earth. 
It  comes  from  the  rock  hundreds  of  feet  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  Such  gas  is  common  to  the  oil  regions,  and 
there  are  usually  great  quantities  of  gas  on  top  of  the  oil  as 
the  two  lie  in  the  earth. 

Men  drill  for  this  gas  much  as  they  do  for  oil,  and  the 
gas  may  pour  forth  from  a  well  for  months  and  years  before 
it  stops.  Natural  gas  is  used  for  lighting  and  heating,  and 
also  as  a  fuel  for  manufacturing.  Gasoline  also  is  made 
from  it.  We  are  now  taking  natural  gas  out  of  twenty- 
three  states,  and  those  which  produce  the  most  are  West 
Virginia,  Oklahoma,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio. 

1.  What  is  petroleum?    Tell  the  story  of  the  first  oil  well,  and 
compare  it  in  depth  with  the  oil  wells  of  to-day. 

2.  Where  are  the  chief  oil  fields  of  the  United  States?     Of  the 
world?    How  does  the  United  States  rank  among  them? 

3.  Name  the  principal  methods  of  transporting  petroleum.    What 
is  a  tank  car?    A  tank  farm?    A  pipe  line?    A  refinery? 


2io  NORTH  AMERICA 

4.  What  are  the  most  important  things  we  get  from  petroleum? 
Mention  some  of  the  uses  of  each.    For  what  is  paraffin  used?    Vase- 
line?   Asphalt? 

5.  If  petroleum  should  suddenly  be  taken  away  from  the  world 
what  would  happen? 

6.  Visit  a  great  refinery  and  tell  what  you  see. 

7.  Describe  natural  gas  and  give  some  of  its  uses. 


XXVIII.  UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI  TO  ST.  LOUIS 

WE  have  come  from  Port  Arthur  to  New  Orleans  by 
train  and  are  now  beginning  our  tour  of  the  fertile 
Mississippi  valley,  which  comprises  about  one  third  of  our 
country. 

Our  first  travels  through  it  will  be  by  steamer  in  order 
that  we  may  get  some  idea  of  the  mighty  river.  We  could 
go  by  train,  for  the  vast  region  is  covered  by  a  network  of 
railways,  and  the  commerce  of  the  valley  is  now  carried 
chiefly  on  the  cars  rather  than  by  boats.  In  the  past,  the 
river  had  hundreds  of  steamers,  boats,  and  barges,  and  a 
great  part  of  the  merchandise  that  went  up  and  down  the 
valley  was  carried  that  way.  To-day  nearly  everything 
goes  by  train,  and  it  is  only  certain  of  the  heavier  com- 
modities and  the  products  of  the  principal  cities  on  the 
river  that  are  carried  by  water. 

We  find  a  steamer  leaving  New  Orleans  for  St.  Louis,  and 
take  passage.  Within  a  short  time,  the  great  port  is  lost  to 
view  and  we  are  winding  our  way  up  this  mighty  stream, 
the  longest  river  of  the  world. 

The  first  thing  we  do  is  to  try  to  get  some  idea  of  the 
Mississippi  system.  We  go  to  the  chart  room,  and  the 
captain  shows  us  his  maps.  As  we  look  at  them  we  see  that 
the  system  may  be  compared  to  a  huge  tree,  with  its  roots 


UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI  TO  ST.  LOUIS  211 

in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  its  branches  reaching  out  into 
many  of  our  central  states.  We  can  pick  out  the  Missouri, 
which  flows  into  the  main  stream  near  St.  Louis,  and  as  we 
trace  the  latter  river  to  its  source  we  find  it  is  much  longer 
than  the  Mississippi  proper.  Indeed,  the  system  should  be 
called  the  Missouri-Mississippi,  for  the  Missouri  is  its 
fountain  head,  having  its  source  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
more  than  a  milp  above  the  sea.  From  that  point  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  the  distance,  by  the  windings  of  the  river,  is 
more  than  forty-two  hundred  miles,  making  the  stream  far 
longer  than  either  the  Nile  or  the  Amazon,  the  longest 
rivers  of  other  continents. 

The  Mississippi  proper  rises  in  Lake  Itas'ca,  not  far  from 
the  borders  of  Canada.  It  winds  its  way  in  a  crystal 
stream  through  numerous  lakes  to  Minneapolis,  where  it 
drops  down  over  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  giving  the  motive 
power  that  grinds  much  of  the  wheat  of  the  United  States 
into  flour.  From  there  to  St.  Louis,  where  the  Mississippi 
flows  into  the  muddy  Missouri,  the  distance  is  less  than 
seven  hundred  miles,  and  the  river  is  navigable  from  St. 
Paul  all  the  way  to  the  Gulf.  Many  of  the  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi-Missouri  are  navigable.  Indeed  one  might 
cross  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from  New  York  to  Liverpool 
five  times  and  not  go  as  far  as  he  could  sail  on  this  river 
system. 

Our  steamer  makes  us  think  of  a  floating  house  of  three 
stories.  The  lower  stories  are  filled  with  freight,  and  above 
them  are  the  sleeping  and  dining  rooms.  The  hurricane 
deck  is  the  yard  where  we  play  and  stroll  about,  watching 
the  scenes  on  the  banks.  We  are  m  Dved  along  by  the  great 
paddle  wheels  at  the  sides  of  the  boat,  which  the  steam 
engines  keep  going  day  and  night. 

How  green  and  beautiful  everything  is! 


UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI  TO  ST.  LOUIS  213 

At  times  we  are  sailing  through  forests  of  cypress  trees, 
loaded  with  Spanish  moss.  The  trees  are  so  bound  together 
with  vines  and  dense  vegetation  that  they  form  green  walls 
on  each  side  of  the  wide,  yellow  river.  The  only  living 
things  we  can  see  are  the  birds  which  hop  from  branch  to 
branch,  and  now  and  then  a  few  people  at  the  clearings, 
where  little  farms  have  been  cut  out  of  the  woods. 

Now  the  Mississippi  widens,  and  we  seem  to  be  traveling 
through  a  series  of  lakes.  We  pass  swamps  and  float  by 
fields  of  sugar  cane  and  cotton,  in  which  many  colored 
people  are  working. 

Now  and  then  we  stop  to  take  on  or  leave  freight  and  pas- 
sengers at  the  cities  and  villages  on  the  banks.  Rough- 
looking  men  and  boys,  most  of  them  colored,  load  and 
unload  the  steamers.  They  sing  as  they  work,  making  a 
great  noise  as  they  roll  the  huge  packages  and  bales  down 
the  gangplank. 

At  Vicksburg  we  stay  for  some  hours.  Here  are  elevators 
on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  bales  of  cotton,  barrels  of 
flour,  and  bags  of  grain  are  rolled  down  into  the  steamers 
which  ply  between  here  and  New  Orleans.  All  kinds  of 
things  are  brought  to  our  steamer,  and  among  them  hun- 
dreds of  crates  of  chickens  to  be  sold  in  St.  Louis.  Each 
crate  is  just  high  enough  for  the  chickens  to  stand  up  inside 
it.  They  poke  their  heads  out  of  the  slats,  and  squawk 
complainingly  at  us  as  the  men  carry  them  upon  the  boat. 

On  the  way  to  Memphis  we  pass  occasional  steamers 
loaded  with  cotton,  going  down  to  New  Orleans.  Memphis 
is  the  most  important  city  on  the  river  between  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio  and  New  Orleans.  It  is  famous  as  a  cotton  and 
lumber  market.  It  has  many  railway  trunk  lines,  and 
steel  bridges  here  cross  the  river.  Memphis  is  situated  on 
a  bluff  overlooking  the  Mississippi  at  a  place  where  the 


214  NORTH  AMERICA 

Indians  used  to  paddle  across  in  their  canoes  before  our 
country  was  settled. 

How  the  Mississippi  winds  in  and  out  as  it  flows  on  its 
course!  From  Cairo  (ka'ro)  to  New  Orleans  it  is  like  an 
enormous  snake,  only  more  crooked  than  any  snake  could 
possibly  be.  Mark  Twain,  who  was  once  a  Mississippi 
pilot,  said  that  if  somebody  should  pare  an  apple  so  as  to 
leave  the  whole  peeling  in  one  long  strip,  and  should  throw 
the  peeling  over  his  shoulder,  as  it  fell  on  the  floor  it  would 
look  much  like  the  lower  part  of  the  Mississippi  River.  As 
our  steamer  winds  around  through  the  curves,  we  see  other 
boats  sailing  to  the  right  and  left  in  the  winding  current 
above  and  below  us;  and  there  are  places  where  we  can  get 
off  upon  the  land,  and  walk  across  the  fields  a  half  mile  or 
so,  and  there  wait  for  the  steamer,  which  has  to  go  a  dozen 
miles  around  to  reach  the  same  point. 

As  we  make  our  way  onward,  we  notice  that  banks,  or 
levees,  have  been  built  up  on  each  side  of  the  river  to  keep 
the  water  from  running  over  the  land.  There  are  eighteen 
hundred  miles  of  such  levees,  on  one  side  or  the  other.  It 
has  cost  many  millions  of  dollars  to  build  them,  and  every 
year  Congress  gives  a  large  sum  to  protect  the  land  along 
them  and  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

Are  the  levees  strong  enough  to  make  the  people  safe 
from  floods? 

Yes;  sometimes,  but  not  always.  The  Mississippi  is 
hard  to  control.  It  is  always  changing  its  course,  always 
wearing  off  the  land  in  some  places,  and  piling  it  up  in 
others.  It  seems  to  be  ever  looking  for  a  weak  spot  where 
it  can  break  through.  The  least  crack  is  soon  enlarged  by 
the  water  flowing  through  it,  and  if  not  stopped  at  once, 
the  water  will  pour  out  over  the  land. 

The  moment  a  break  is  discovered  the  people  rush  out  to 


UP  THE  MISSISSIPPI  TO  ST.  LOUIS  215 

fill  it.  They  drive  down  stakes  on  each  side  of  the  crack, 
and  put  bags  of  earth  between  them.  They  take  boats  and 
throw  all  kinds  of  stuff  into  the  break,  in  order  to  stop  the 
stream  before  it  can  make  the  hole  larger.  If  the  break 
becomes  ten  feet  wide,  the  water  dissolves  the  bank  as 
though  it  were  sugar.  It  cuts  through  the  earth  like  a  knife 
and  when  the  break  has  reached  a  width  of  a  hundred  feet 
or  more,  the  banks  drop  down  in  slices  half  an  acre  in  thick- 
ness, and  the  muddy  river  rushes  with  a  loud  noise  over 
the  country. 

At  such  times  farms  are  often  swallowed  up;  and  thou- 
sands of  acres  become  lakes  and  ponds.  When  the  cattle, 
horses,  and  sheep  see  the  waters  advancing,  they  run  to 
the  higher  places,  but  sometimes  they  starve  before  the 
river  subsides  or  the  people  can  come  in  boats  to  take  them 
away.  Houses  are  torn  loose  by  the  floods  and  one  may 
sometimes  see  buildings,  with  families  on  the  roofs,  float- 
ing down  the  river.  The  woodpiles  on  the  banks  are  car- 
ried away,  and  large  trees  torn  up  by  the  roots  are  borne 
rapidly  along  by  the  current. 

On  our  voyage  up  the  Mississippi  we  are  stopped  now  and 
then  by  the  ships  and  barges  coming  down.  We  pass  long 
rafts  of  lumber  from  the  Red  River  and  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi. They  have  little  houses  upon  them,  in  which  the 
lumbermen  live  during  the  voyage. 

There  are  huge  barges  loaded  with  produce,  fastened  to- 
gether in  blocks,  and  pushed  by  steamboats  behind  them. 
There  comes  a  steamship  now,  shoving  along  a  half-dozen 
huge  barges  piled  high  with  coal  from  the  mines  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Notice  how  she  puffs  as  she  forces  them  onward. 
The  barges  are  fastened  together  in  pairs  side  by  side. 
Each  barge  is  as  long  as  a  city  lot  and  almost  as  wide.  It 
is  as  deep  as  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling  of  an  ordinary 


216  NORTH  AMERICA 

room,  and  if  we  should  imagine  our  schoolroom  packed 
full  of  coal,  we  may  have  an  idea  of  the  amount  that  each 
of  these  great  flat  boats  is  carrying  down  to  New  Orleans. 

As  we  approach  the  city  of  Cairo  we  meet  many  barges 
of  coal  which  have  come  through  the  Ohio  River  from  the 
coal  fields  of  West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio,  most 
of  them  having  been  loaded  at  Pittsburgh.  The  Ohio 
River  may  be  called  the  coal  chute  for  the  cities  of  the  lower 
Mississippi  valley.  It  brings  much  of  the  coal  that  makes 
steam  for  the  factories  of  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  and  the 
cities  on  the  lower  river. 

Leaving  Cairo,  we  steam  northward  through  a  rich  farm- 
ing country  and  soon  reach  St.  Louis.  This  city  is  the  most 
important  of  all  upon  the  Mississippi  River.  It  is  one  of 
the  chief  commercial  and  manufacturing  cities  of  the  United 
States,  and  it  has  a  great  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  lower 
Mississippi  valley.  St.  Louis  is  situated  on  a  limestone  bluff 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  river.  It  is  about  seven  hundred 
miles  from  New  Orleans,  six  hundred  miles  from  St.  Paul, 
and  about  twenty  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 
The  town  was  laid  out  by  Frenchmen  and  named  St.  Louis 
in  honor  of  King  Louis  XV  of  France. 

It  is  the  situation  of  St.  Louis  that  has  made  it  important. 
Lying  on  the  Mississippi  between  the  mouths  of  the  Mis- 
souri and  the  Ohio,  it  was  an  excellent  place  for  trade, 
because  goods  could  be  easily  shipped  from  it  to  all  points 
on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries.  As  railways  were 
built,  it  was  found  that  the  situation  was  equally  good  for 
a  great  railway  center,  and  to-clay  many  of  the  trunk 
lines  between  the  East  and  the  West  pass  through  here. 
The  city  is  one  of  the  railroad  gateways  to  Mexico,  and 
much  of  our  trade  with  that  country  passes  through  it. 
Other  railways  reach  to  every  part  of  the  United  States. 


Street  in  St.  Louis.    There  are  many  tall  buildings  like  these. 

217 


NORTH  CENTRAL  STATES 


220  NORTH  AMERICA 

During  our  stay  in  St.  Louis  we  visit  the  Union  Railway 
Station,  a  fine  building  which,  when  it  was  built,  was  one  of 
the  finest  of  the  world.  We  take  automobiles  and  motor 
about  through  the  parks  and  enjoy  a  trip  through  the  resi- 
dence section  noted  for  its  beautiful  gardens  and  yards. 


XXIX.    HARNESSING     THE     MISSISSIPPI  —  THE 
KEOKUK  DAM,  AND  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY 

WE  shall  continue  our  travels  on  the  Mississippi  to 
the  city  of  Ke'okuk,  Iowa,  where  the  river  furnishes 
the  power  for  one  of  the  largest  electric  plants  of  the  United 
States,  and  then  go  by  train  to  different  parts  of  the  corn 
belt,  which  contain  some  of  our  best  farming  regions. 

Leaving  St.  Louis,  we  pass  many  towns  and  villages  on 
the  banks  of  the  river.  The  country  is  well  settled,  and  the 
people  are  prosperous.  About  twenty  miles  north  of  St. 
Louis  we  pass  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and  see  the  yellow 
muddy  waters  of  the  latter  river  mixed  with  the  clear 
stream  of  the  Mississippi  proper.  The  colors  of  the  two 
rivers  are  very  different,  and  they  flow  for  some  distance 
side  by  side  before  they  are  mingled. 

As  we  go  on  up  the  river  we  pass  many  islands,  and  wind 
in  and  out  among  beautiful  patches  of  green.  Some  of  the 
islands  are  covered  with  willows,  and  others  have  maples 
and  oaks.  The  largest  have  small  farms  upon  them. 
The  channels  separating  many  of  them  from  the  nearest 
bank  of  the  river  have  been  so  filled  in  with  silt  that  at 
times  of  low  water  the  islands  appear  to  be  part  of  the 
mainland.  There  are  six  hundred  such  islands  between 
St.  Paul  and  St.  Louis,  many  of  them  two  or  three  miles 
long. 


Our  steamer  passing  through  the  canal  around  Keokuk  Dam. 


Generators  in  the  Keokuk  power  house.     In  the  corner,  a  turbine. 

221 


222  NORTH  AMERICA 

Shortly  before  reaching  Keokuk  we  stop  at  Hannibal, 
Missouri,  where  Mark  Twain  spent  his  boyhood.  The  cap- 
tain points  out  a  hill  where  Tom  Sawyer  and  his  boy  friends 
used  to  dig  for  treasure,  saying  there  is  a  cave  near  by  in 
which  Tom  Sawyer  and  Huckleberry  Finn  planned  some  of 
their  notable  adventures. 

At  Keokuk  our  steamer  passes  through  the  canal  built  to 
carry  vessels  around  the  great  dam,  by  which  the  power  of 
the  river  has  been  harnessed  and  made  to  work  for  man. 
The  dam  gives  a  fall  of  twenty-three  feet,  the  river  pouring 
down  at  the  rate  of  five  hundred  thousand  cubic  feet  per 
second  upon  huge  turbine  wheels.  Each  turbine  is  whirled 
around  with  such  force  that  the  dynamo  connected  with 
it  generates  electric  power  able  to  do  as  much  work  as  a 
line  of  two-horse  teams  twelve  miles  in  length.  The  horse 
power  already  developed  is  more  than  two  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  there  is  one  hundred  thousand  horse  power  more 
that  may  yet  be  developed.  The  power  thus  created  is 
sent  by  means  of  cables  of  copper  wire  to  many  cities  and 
towns.  Some  of  it  goes  to  St.  Louis,  more  than  one  hun- 
dred miles  away.  It  runs  the  street  cars  of  that  city,  and 
we  are  told  the  connection  is  so  delicate  that  whenever 
a  car  stops  in  St.  Louis  the  fact  is  registered  at  Keokuk. 

While  our  steamer  is  going  through  the  locks  of  the  canal, 
we  get  off  and  take  a  walk  along  the  great  dam.  It  is  the 
longest  in  the  world  excepting  the  dam  at  Assuan  (as- 
swan'),  which  holds  back  the  Nile  in  order  that  Egypt  may 
have  a  regular  water  supply  throughout  the  year.  The 
Keokuk  dam  is  built  of  concrete,  and  the  flow  of  the 
water  is  regulated  by  gates  which  can  be  raised  and 
lowered  to  allow  the  river  to  go  through  or  to  be  held 
back  at  will.  When  the  gates  are  closed  the  water  backs 
up  so  that  it  forms  a  lake  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  long. 


THE  FALLS  OF  ST.  ANTHONY  223 

Passing  through  the  power  house,  we  enter  the  room  con- 
taining the  dynamos  in  which  the  electricity  is  generated. 
Each  rests  over  a  well  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  a  turbine 
wheel  whirled  around  by  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi 
pressing  upon  it.  The  foreman  describes  the  machinery. 
He  tells  us  that  the  cable  which  carries  the  electricity  over 
the  country  consists  of  nineteen  copper  wires  twisted  to- 
gether. It  is  a  half  inch  in  diameter,  and  it  is  carried  across 
the  country  on  steel  towers  as  high  as  an  eight-story  build- 
ing, and  so  connected  with  the  ground  that  they  are  pro- 
tected from  lightning. 

We  shall  find  other  large  power  plants  along  the  river, 
especially  at  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  in  Minneapolis, 
where  the  Mississippi  pitches  down  over  falls  and  rapids 
amounting  to  eighty  feet  in  one  half  mile.  From  this 
descent,  more  than  forty  thousand  horse  power  has  been 
developed,  and  additional  locks  and  dams  are  being  made 
below  the  falls  which  will  double  this  power.  Even  then 
it  will  not  be  one  third  as  great  as  that  which  can  be 
developed  here  at  Keokuk. 

1.  Compare  the  Mississippi  River  in  length  with  the  other  great 
streams  of  North  America.    (See  Table,  page  495.)    With  the  Nile; 
the  Amazon;  the  Volga. 

2.  What  are  the  two  chief  sources  of  the  Mississippi-Missouri? 
Which  is  farthest  away  from  the  mouth? 

3.  Describe  our  steamer  and  our  trip  to  St.  Louis.    Mention  some 
of  the  goods  shipped  on  the  river.    Trace  a  coal  barge  from  Pittsburgh 
to  New  Orleans.    What  cities  does  it  pass? 

4.  What  is  a  levee?    Why  is  it  necessary?     - 

5.  Locate  St.  Louis,  Memphis,  and  Vicksburg.    Compare  St.  Louis 
with  ten  other  large  cities  of  the  United  States.    (See  Table,  page  494.) 

6.  Where  is  Cairo,  Illinois?     Cairo,  Egypt?     Pronounce  the  two 
names. 

7.  Who  was  Mark  Twain?    What  are  some  of  his  works? 

8.  Describe  the  Keokuk  dam.    Tell  why  it  is  important  to  St.  Louis. 


224  NORTH  AMERICA 

XXX.  IN  THE  CORN  BELT 

WE  are  now  in  the  heart  of  the  corn  belt.  From  St. 
Louis  for  many  miles  to  the  northward,  the  Missis- 
sippi is  lined  on  both  sides  with  great  tracts  of  corn,  and 
we  can  travel  north  and  south  or  east  and  west  for  hours 
on  fast  railway  trains  without  coming  to  the  end  of  the 
cornfields.  This  region  furnishes  such  a  large  part  of  the 
food  supply  of  the  United  States  that  we  decide  to  ride 
out  on  the  cars  into  the  country  to  see  something  of  this 
wonderful  crop. 

We  have  now  left  Keokuk  and  are  riding  across  the 
country  between  walls  of  green  stalks,  the  leaves  of  which 
rustle  in  the  wind  made  by  the  train  as  it  flies  through  them. 
When  our  cars  pass  over  an  embankment  above  the  fields, 
we  look  out  of  the  windows  over  a  sea  of  green  and  gold 
spotted  with  feathery  tassels.  The  corn  is  turning  yellow 
and  the  fat  ears  have  husks  of  a  lemon  hue. 

The  crop  is  now  ready  for  harvest.  The  corn  was  planted 
last  spring.  The  ground  was  first  plowed  and  harrowed, 
and  marked  out  in  rows.  Three  or  four  of  the  little  grains 
were  dropped  in  each  hill  where  the  rows  crossed,  and  were 
covered  with  earth.  The  plants  soon  came  up  through 
the  soil  and  grew  rapidly  under  the  warm  sun.  The  fields 
were  cultivated  and  kept  free  from  weeds,  and  now  each 
stalk  of  ripe  corn  is  about  twice  as  high  as  our  heads.  We 
can  see  the  men  in  the  fields  cutting  the  stalks.  They  are 
putting  them  into  shocks;  later  on  they  will  strip  off  the 
husks  and  carry  the  ears  to  market. 

Let  us  get  down  from  the  train  and  walk  through  the 
fields.  We  pull  off  one  of  the  ears  and  look  at  it.  We  have 
in  our  hands  the  most  wonderful  food  grain  known  to  man. 
It  is  a  grain  which  belongs  to  our  continent,  for  corn  was 


A  young  corn  club  member  in  a  field  of  corn  ready  for  cutting. 

The  stalks  are  three  times  as  tall  as  he  is.    The  ears,  covered  with 

husks,  may  be  seen  on  the  stalks,  about  midway  of  their  height. 


CARP.   N.   AMER. — 14 


225 


226  NORTH  AMERICA    • 

not  known  in  Europe  until  America  was  discovered.  Now 
count  the  kernels  upon  this  single  ear.  There  are  about 
eight  hundred.  Some  of  the  ears  have  over  nine  hundred 
and  a  few  one  thousand  or  more.  Think  of  a  mother  who 
has  nine  hundred  children.  The  parent-grain  sometimes 
produces  even  more  than  that,  for  there  are  often  two  ears 
on  one  stalk. 

Pick  out  one  of  the  kernels  and  bite  it  open.  How  hard 
it  is  and  how  white  its  inside!  If  you  should  place  it  under 
a  microscope,  you  would  see  that  it  is  composed  of  thousands 
of  cells,  each  containing  starch  and  other  material  good 
for  food.  . 

Corn  is  one  of  the  best  of  foods  for  both  man  and  beast. 
We  grind  it  into  meal  for  bread,  mush,  and  cakes.  We 
make  hominy  and  other  breakfast  foods  of  it,  and  the  fine 
cornstarch  that  is  used  in  puddings.  It  forms  the  chief 
food  of  our  farm  animals,  and  we  consume  it  also  as  pork, 
mutton,  and  beef,  and  in  geese,  ducks,  and  chickens. 
When  we  eat  our  turkey  at  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas 
we  are  really  consuming  a  part  of  the  corn  crop.  Much 
of  our  sirup  and  sugar  comes  from  corn,  and  almost  all  of 
our  starch.  We  use  corn  husks  for  mattresses;  and  the 
leaves  and  stalks  are  fed  to  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep. 
The  whole  plants  cut  green,  chopped  in  small  pieces,  and 
kept  in  silos,  are  the  chief  food  of  our  dairy  cows,  and  so  we 
have  corn  again  in  our  cream  and  milk  and  in  butter  and 
cheese. 

Indeed  corn  is  more  valuable  than  any  other  crop  of  the 
United  States.  The  amount  we  produce  in  one  year  is 
sometimes  more  than  three  billion  bushels  of  shelled  corn, 
and  it  sells  sometimes  at  such  a  price  per  bushel  as  to  be 
worth  two  or  three  billion  dollars.  This  sum  is  twenty  or 
thirty  times  as  much  as  all  the  gold  we  mine  in  one  year, 


IN  THE  CORN  BELT 


227 


and  three  or  four  times  as  much  as  all  the  gold  and  silver 
which  has  been  taken  out  of  the  whole  earth  in  any  year 
since  the  world  be- 


gan. 

Think  of  the  mass 
or  mountain  of  corn 
that  three  billion 
bushels  would  make 
if  it  could  be  col- 
lected together!  We 
can  appreciate  it  bet- 
ter by  loading  it  upon 
wagons.  We  shall 
put  eighty  bushels, 
or  about  two  tons, 
in  each  wagon,  which 
would  be  a  good  load 
for  a  team  of  horses. 
We  shall  try  to  load 
the  whole  crop  in 
that  way,  and  shall 
allow  each  team  and 
wagon  forty  feet  on 
the  roadway,  put- 
ting the  noses  of  the 
horses  at  the  tail- 
board of  the  wagon 
in  front  of  them. 
How  far  away  will 
the  first  wagon  be 
when  the  last  bushel 
is  loa/ied?  Suppose  we  start  here  at  the  Mississippi 
River.  Would  it  be  at  Pittsburgh  on  the  other  side 


Concrete  silo  of  the  most  modern  type. 


228 


NORTH  AMERICA 


of  the  Ohio?  No.  In  Boston,  on  the  coast  of  the  Atlan- 
tic? No.  If  we  could  bridge  the  ocean,  would  it  be 
in  Paris  or  Berlin?  No.  The  caravan  of  wagons  would 
extend  far  beyond  that.  It  would  reach  on  over  Russia; 
it  would  cross  Siberia,  go  over  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  come 
back  to  the  Mississippi  valley  where  we  are  now.  Even 
then  not  one  tenth  of  the  mass  would  have  been  loaded. 
The  whole  crop  would  require  a  train  of  wagons  more  than 
'three  hundred  thousand  miles  long.  If  the  train  could 
travel  through  the  skies,  it  would  reach  farther  than  from 
the  earth  to  the  moon. 

Our  country  produces  three  fourths  of  the  corn  of  the 
world.  Of  the  remainder,  some  is  grown  in  Mexico  and 
Argentina,  and  some  in  Europe  and  Asia.  Three  fourths 

of  our  product  comes 
from  what  is  known 
as  the  corn  belt,  a  re- 
gion which  stretches 
from  central  Ohio  to 
central  Kansas  and 
from  Kentucky  to 
Wisconsin.  Among 
the  best  corn  states 
Corn-growing  regions.  are  Iowaj  Illinois, 

Nebraska,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  Missouri,  but  there  are 
thirty  other  states  in  each  of  which  the  crop  annually 
amounts  to  two  million  bushels  or  more. 

The  corn  belt  is  one  of  the  richest  farming  districts  of  the 
world.  It  is  for  the  most  part  prairie  with  a  soil  so  free 
from  stones  that  the  land  can  be  farmed  by  tractors,  and 
the  rows  kept  clean  by  cultivators  which  will  till  both 
sides  of  one  row,  and  often  two  or  three  rows,  as  they  go 
over  the  fields.  This  region  is  the  great  fattening  place  for 


This  South  Carolina  boy  raised  228  bushels  of  corn  on  one  acre. 

229 


230  NORTH  AMERICA 

our  live  stock.  It  contains  about  one  half  of  the  hogs  of 
the  United  States  and  almost  three  fourths  of  the  cattle 
intended  for  meat.  It  is  in  the  shape  of  meat  that  much  of 
our  corn  is  exported. 

As  we  travel  through  the  corn  belt  we  shall  now  and  then 
meet  farmers'  boys  who  belong  to  the  corn  clubs.  Great  as 
the  corn  crop  is,  it  is  said  that  it  might  be  doubled  and 
trebled  if  the  best  seeds  were  used  and  the  planting  and 
cultivation  properly  done.  In  order  to  raise  more  and 
better  corn  our  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington 
has  encouraged  the  boys  to  form  clubs,  each  member  of 
which  tries  to  see  how  much  corn  he  can  produce  on  one 
acre  of  ground.  The  department  sends  the  directions  for 
planting  and  growing  and  the  rules  for  judging  the  crop. 
The  boy  of  each  club  who  raises  the  most  and  best  corn  gets 
a  prize. 

There  are  thousands  of  these  clubs  scattered  throughout 
the  corn  belt  and  especially  throughout  the  southern  states, 
and  many  of  their  members  have  raised  three  or  four  times 
as  much  corn  as  is  grown  in  the  fields  all  around  them. 
The  average  yield  in  our  country  per  acre  is  seldom  much 
more  than  twenty-five  bushels  of  shelled  corn,  but  many  of 
these  boys  of  ten,  twelve,  and  fourteen  years  of  age  have 
each  raised  more  than  one  hundred  bushels  of  corn  on  one 
.acre  of  ground.  Jerry  Moore  of  South  Carolina  grew  two 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  bushels,  Ben  Leith  of  Georgia 
raised  two  hundred  and  fourteen  bushels,  and  Bennie  Bee- 
son  of  Mississippi,  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  bushels 
of  corn  on  one  acre  of  ground.  Junius  Hill  of  Alabama 
grew  more  than  two  hundred  bushels  on  an  acre  at  a  cost 
of  less  than  nine  cents  per  bushel,  and  his  corn  crop  sold 
for  more  than  one  dollar  per  bushel. 

In  many  places  the  bankers,  merchants,  and  other?  club 


IN  THE  CORN  BELT  231 

together  and  give  the  prizes.  One  Oklahoma  boy  won  a 
gold  watch  in  that  way.  An  Indiana  boy  won  a  bicycle,  and 
many  boys  have  received  prizes  of  trips  to  Washington  for 
their  work  in  the  corn  clubs.  One  boy  made  enough  out  of 
one  crop  of  several  acres  to  buy  an  automobile,  and  nearly 
all  of  the  members  have  been  successful  in  raising  better 
corn  than  their  fathers,  who  did  not  select  the  best  seed 
nor  cultivate  after  the  rules  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

In  the  same  corn  region  there  are  many  pig  clubs,  each 
member  of  which  raises  one  pig  or  more  according  to  rule, 


BBBBL. 


These  two  pigs  are  of  the  same  litter.    The  one  at  the  left  was 

raised  by  this  boy,  who  is  a  member  of  a  pig  club.    The  other  pig, 

which  was  raised  by  his  father,  is  not  half  so  large. 

and  there  are  baby  beef  clubs  which  raise  beeves.  There 
are  poultry,  clubs  to  which  the  girls  belong,  and  tomato  clubs 
and  canning  clubs  where  the  girls  raise  their  own  tomatoes 
and  put  them  up  in  cans  for  the  market.  One  tomato  club 
girl  has  raised  seven  thousand  pounds  of  tomatoes  on  one 
tenth  of  an  acre,  and  a  chicken  club  girl  cleared  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  dollars  from  thirty  hens  in  one  year. 


232  NORTH  AMERICA 

1.  Bring  some  Indian  corn  to  class.    Describe  an  ear  and  let  it  teli 
the  story  of  how  it  was  raised. 

2.  Why  is  the  corn  crop  important  to  the  United  States?    Where 
did  the  plant  come  from  and  how  is  it  raised?    Name  six  important 
corn-growing  states.    What  other  countries  raise  corn?    (See  Table, 
page  501.) 

3.  For  what  is  corn  used?'  In  what  form  is  much  of  our  crop  ex- 
ported? 

4.  What  are  the  corn  clubs?    Tell  all  you  can  about  them  and  how 
to  know  good  corn.    What  is  the  average  crop  per  acre?    How  much 
did  some  of  the  boys  raise? 


XXXI.  IN  OUR  GREAT  WHEAT  LANDS 

TRAVELING  northward  up  the  Mississippi  valley,  we 
come  at  last  to  St.  Paul,  and  thence  go  by  street  car 
to  Minneapolis,  the  largest  flour-milling  center  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  world. 

During  the  latter  part  of  our  journey  we  saw  less  and  less 
corn  and  are  now  in  a  region  where  one  of  the  chief  crops  is 
wheat.  West  and  north  of  the  Mississippi  in  both  Canada 
and  the  United  States  are  some  of  the  best  wheat  lands  upon 
earth.  Wheat  is  grown  in  many  states,  but  nowhere  to  so 
great  an  extent  as  in  North  Dakota,  Minnesota,  and 
Kansas.  It  is  raised  in  large  quantities  in  the  Columbia 
River  basin  and  also  in  Canada  and  in  the  basin  of  the 
Plata  in  South  America.  In  the  Old  World,  about  half 
of  all  the  wheat  produced  comes  from  Europe,  and  a  large 
amount  from  India.  The  chief  wheat-producing  regions 
of  Europe  are  in  the  plains  of  southern  Russia,  in  the 
Danube  valley,  and  in  France,  Italy,  and  Germany. 

Wheat  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  our  food  grains. 
It  forms  the  bread  of  about  one  third  of  the  world,  and 


IN  OUR  GREAT  WHEAT  LANDS  233 

most  of  us  eat  some  of  it  at  every  meal.  The  wheat  plant 
is  one  of  the  grass  family  to  which  belong  also  corn,  oats, 
and  all  of  the  other  cereals.  We  know  that  the  grain  has 
been  used  for  ages  and  some  people  say  it  originated  in  the 
Holy  Land.  In  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs,  Egypt  was 
famous  for  its  wheat,  and  on  the  walls  of  some  of  the 
ancient  tombs  are  pictures  showing  how  the  crop  was 
raised  there.  The  grain  was  not  known  in  our  hemisphere 
until  Columbus  came.  -Nevertheless  the  New  World  has 
some  of  the  best  wheat  soil  upon  earth  and  the  United 
States  now  grows  more  than  any  other  country  of  the  world. 

In  Minnesota  and  in  North  and  South  Dakota  to  the 
west  of  us  is  the  Red  River  valley,  where  many  wheat 
farms  are  managed  on  a  grand  scale.  Each  large  farm  has 
its  bookkeeper  and  overseers.  It  employs  hundreds  of 
men,  and  buys  its  supplies  by  the  carload. 

The  soil  of  the  Red  River  valley  is  a  rich,  black  earth 
free  from  stones  and  almost  as  level  as  a  floor.  It  was  once 
the  bed  of  the  ancient  Lake  Agassiz  (ag'a-se) ,  which  existed 
here  when  the  great  ice  sheet  overspread  the  northern 
part  of  our  continent,  and  dammed  up  the  valley  so  that 
the  water  could  not  flow  to  Hudson  Bay.  This  lake  was 
larger  than  all  of  the  Great  Lakes  put  together. 

But  suppose  we  visit  one  of  these  Dakota  wheat  farms. 
It  is  so  large  that  we  are  several  hours  riding  back  and 
forth  over  it  in  our  motor  cars.  Some  of  the  fields  contain 
as  much  as  five  hundred  acres.  The  men  labor  in  com- 
panies under  mounted  overseers  who  gallop  from  one  place 
to  another  to  see  that  the  work  is  properly  done.  Some- 
times a  score  of  plows  moved  by  tractors  directed  by  the 
men  who  sit  upon  them,  move  across  the  field  together. 
They  may  plow  several  acres  at  a  single  trip,  for  the  field 
is  almost  a  mile  long.  The  ground  is  harrowed  in  much 


234 


IN  OUR  GREAT  WHEAT  LANDS  235 

the  same  way,  and  the  wheat  is  drilled  in  by  seeders,  or 
grain  drills.  These  are  long  boxes  mounted  on  wheels. 
From  the  bottom  of  each  box  tubes  about  as  big  around  as 
a  broomstick  run  down  through  hollow  steel  teeth.  The 
wheat  grains  fall  through  the  tubes  into  the  furrows  made 
by  the  teeth,  and  the  earth  falling  back  behind  the  teeth 
covers  them.  In  this  way  a  large  tract  of  wheat  can  be 
planted  in  a  short  time. 

Let  us  suppose  that  we  are  on  the  farm  when  the  harvest 
is  ripe.  Long  lines  of  reaping  machines,  some  pulled  by 
tractors  and  some  by  horses  and  mules,  are  moving  across 
through  the  ocean  of  light  yellow  grain.  The  din  of  the 
machinery  makes  us  think  of  a  boiler  factory  and  as  we 
come  near  we  find  that  most  of  the  noise  comes  from  the 
knives  which  are  moving  back  and  forth  a  few  inches  above 
the  ground,  cutting  the  wheat  so  that  the  stalks  fall  back 
upon  the  machine.  They  fall  with  their  heads  all  the  same 
way  and  are  rolled  into  a  bundle  or  sheaf,  which  is  bound 
with  string  and  thrown  off.  Behind  the  machines  come 
men  who  pick  up  the  sheaves  and  shock  them.  They  are 
left  in  the  shocks  until  the  grain  is  dry  enough  to  be  threshed. 

I  have  seen  threshing  in  many  parts  of  the  world.  In 
some  of  the  wheat  lands  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  South  Amer- 
ica the  grains  are  pounded  out  with  a  club  or  flail.  In  other 
places  oxen  or  horses  are  driven  over  the  wheat  as  it  lies 
on  the  hard  ground  of  the  threshing  floor,  and  the  feet  of 
the  animals  tread  out  the  grain.  In  most  parts  of  our 
country  and  Canada,  this  work  is  done  by  threshing 
machines  run  by  steam  or  gasoline  engines.  One  large 
thresher  thus  does  the  work  of  hundreds  of  oxen  or  thou- 
sands of  flails.  It  separates  the  grain  from  the  chaff  and 
straw,  and  the  clean  wheat  flows  out  through  a  pipe  at 
the  side  so  fast  that  it  keeps  two  men  busy  tying  and  re- 


236 


NORTH  AMERICA 


moving  the  bags  into  which  it  pours.  But  on  most  large 
wheat  farms  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  it  is  poured 
directly  into  wagons  without  being  bagged,  and  then  it  is 
hauled  away  to  the  nearest  railway  station  or  wheat  elevator. 
On  the  dry  lands  of  the  far  Northwest,  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  most  of  the  wheat  cures  on  the  stalk  without 
cutting  and  shocking.  There  the  work  of  threshing  can 
be  done  by  a  combined  harvester  and  thresher  called  a 
header.  A  single  machine  of  this  kind  will  cut  off  the 
heads  of  wheat  and  thresh  them  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three 
thousand  bushels  of  grain  in  one  day. 

As  we  talk  with  the  farmers,  we  learn  that  wheat  is  of 
many  varieties.  Winter  wheat  is  sown  in  the  fall  and 
harvested  in  the  early  summer.  Other  kinds  of  wheat  are 
sown  in  the  spring  and  harvested  later  than  the  winter 
variety.  Spring  wheat  is  sown  where  the  winters  are  dry 
and  cold  with  little  or  no  snow.  The  hard  durum  wheat, 
which  is  used  for  macaroni,  is  produced  where  the  land 
is  high  and  the  air  comparatively  dry.  The  wheat  from 
moist  regions  is  soft  and  starchy,  while  that  of  less  humid 
regions  is  usually  hard. 

We  have  twenty-one  states  which  raise  winter  wheat, 
and  twenty  which  produce  spring  wheat,  some  of  the 

states  raising  both. 
Among  the  chief 
winter-wheat  states 
are  Kansas,  Illinois, 
Missouri,  Ohio,  Okla- 
homa, Indiana,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Michi- 
gan. Among  the  best 
of  the  spring-wheat 
states  are  Minnesota, 


Wheat-growing  regions. 


WHEAT  ELEVATORS  237 

North  and  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Washington,  and 
Wisconsin.  Much  of  the  wheat  raised  on  our  Pacific 
coast  goes  to  Asia,  and  a  great  deal  of  that  raised  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  is  exported  to  Europe. 


XXXII.   FROM   THE  WHEAT   FARM   TO  THE 
FLOUR  BARREL 

TO-DAY  we  shall  learn  how  wheat  is  cared  for  after 
leaving  the  fields,  and  how  it  is  turned  into  flour. 
This  is  quite  as  great  a  business  as  raising  the  wheat. 
At  the  railway  stations  of  the  wheat  regions  and  at  all  of 
our  grain  ports,  there  are  huge  elevators  for  storing  the 
grain  before  it  is  shipped  to  the  markets  or  ground  into 
flour.  There  are  many  such  granaries  at  Minneapolis, 
St.  Louis,  New  York,  and  New  Orleans,  and  especially 
at  Chicago  and  other  large  cities  upon  the  Great  Lakes. 
Minneapolis  and  Duluth  have  elevators  each  of  which  will 
store  several  million  bushels  of  grain,  and  hundreds  of  train- 
loads  of  wheat  come  there  in  a  single  year. 

The  elevators  are  usually  built  near  the  railroad  tracks, 
and,  at  the  sea  and  river  ports,  close  to  the  water.  The 
wheat  is  taken  from  wagons  or  cars  directly  into  the  eleva- 
tors, and  when  it  is  to  be  shipped  it  flows  out  from  them 
into  cars  or  barges  or  ships.  Each  elevator  contains  many 
huge  bins,  one  of  which  may  be  as  high  as  a  six-story 
building  and  will  hold  thousands  of  bushels  of  wheat.  The 
grain  is  moved  to  the  top  of  the  elevator  in  small  buckets 
of  tin  or  zinc  fastened  to  a  belt  which  carries  it  up  and 
empties  it  into  a  large  box  where  it  is  weighed  automat- 
ically and  then  poured  into  the  bins.  The  wheat  is  trans- 


238  NORTH  AMERICA 

ported  from  the  bins  to  other  parts  of  the  elevator  or  to 
the  mills  near  by  on  moving  belts  so  that  it  flows  like  a 
river  into  the  place  where  it  is  needed.  It  may  go  on  the 
belt  even  to  the  cars  or  ships.  Sometimes  the  grain  is 
pumped  through  pipes  instead  of  being  carried  on  belts. 

There  are  elevators  at  Duluth  and  other  ports  of  Lake 
Superior  which  handle  the  grain  for  the  steamers  that 
carry  it  down  the  Great  Lakes  to  Buffalo.  From  Buffalo 
it  goes  by  rail,  or  in  barges  on  the  Barge  Canal,  to  New 
York  to  be  shipped  to  Europe.  The  wheat  of  western 
Canada  comes  to  Port  Arthur  and  Fort  William  on  Lake 
Superior  and  goes  down  the  lakes  and  out  through  the 
Welland  Canal  and  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Europe. 

Most  of  our  wheat  is  used  in  the  United  States.  It 
is  carried  on  boats  and  barges  and  in  cars  to  our  various 
cities,  and  during  a  part  of  the  year  long  trains  of  wheat 
cars  move  over  many  of  our  trunk  lines  of  railroad. 

We  have  left  the  wheat  fields  and  are  back  in  Minneapolis 
ready  to  see  the  wheat  turned  into  flour.  We  go  to  the 
milling  district  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  It  is  covered  by 
enormous  buildings  of  limestone,  some  of  which  rise  more 
than  two  hundred  feet  above  the  ground.  These  are  the 
mills.  There  are  huge  elevators  near  by  which  rise  high 
above  all  the  buildings.  The  elevators  are  now  full  of 
wheat,  and  steady  streams  of  grain  are  flowing  from  them 
into  the  mills  at  the  rate  of  more  than  one  hundred  thou- 
sand bushels  per  hour.  We  visit  one  of  the  mills.  It 
is  of  immense  size,  grinding  out  so  much  flour  every  day 
that  the  whole  would  be  enough  to  make  a  loaf  of  bread 
for  every  person  in  the  cities  of  New  York,  Chicago,  Phil- 
adelphia, Boston,  and  Cleveland.  It  grinds  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  thousand  bushels  of  wheat  every  twenty- 
four  hours. 


FLOUR  MILLS 


239 


Minneapolis  flour  mills,  and  wheat  elevator. 

We  go  first  to  the  top  of  the  mill.  Here  the  grain  is 
cleaned  by  machinery,  each  kernel  being  scoured  and 
cleaned  again  and  again.  On  the  floors  below  the  kernels 
are  then  passed  between  steel  rollers  by  which  they  are 
crushed.  They  are  broken  again  and  again,  more  flour 
being  removed  at  each  breaking.  From  time  to  time  the 
flour  is  sifted  through  wire  netting,  which  grows  finer  and 
finer,  until  finally  the  net  is  so  fine  that  every  piece  the 
size  of  a  postage  stamp  has  more  than  one  hundred  holes. 
During  this  process,  the  bran  and  other  coarse  parts  of  the 
kernel  are  taken  out,  and  only  the  wheat  flour  is  left. 
This  flour  is  put  into  barrels  by  machinery,  and  the  barrels 
are  rolled  into  the  cars  to  start  on  their  long  trip  to  our 
homes.  The  coarser  and  darker  parts  of  the  kernel  have 
great  food  value,  and  are  left  in  some  brands  of  flour. 

Leaving  the  milling  district,  we  take  a  drive  through 
Minneapolis  and  then  go  by  automobile  to  St.  Paul.  The 
centers  of  the  two  cities  are  only  about  twelve  miles  apart 
and  they  have  grown  so  rapidly  that  they  will  soon  come 
together.  They  are  already  practically  one  commercial 


240  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  manufacturing  center,  known  as  the  "Twin  Cities  of 
the  Northwest."  Minneapolis  is  the  larger  but  St.  Paul  is 
the  capital  of  Minnesota.  St.  Paul  is  an  important  railway 
and  commercial  center.  It  has  large  packing  houses  and 
wholesale  establishments.  Minneapolis  has  many  factories 
besides  its  flour  mills.  It  operates  woolen  mills,  and  saws 
great  quantities  of  timber  into  lumber  of  various  kinds. 
The  growth  of  these  two  cities  is  due  largely  to  their 
situation  in  a  rich  country  of  forests  and  farms  at  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Mississippi  and  near  the  Great  Lakes. 
Goods  may  be  sent  from  them  by  water  down  the  Missis- 
sippi, or  after  a  short  haul  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  on 
the  railroad,  down  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  vast  population  to 
be  reached  from  their  shores,  and  also  through  the  New 
York  Barge  Canal  or  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  ocean  ports 
for  shipment  to  Europe.  The  milling  industry  and  growth 
of  Minneapolis  are  largely  due  to  the  water  power  of  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 

1.  To  what  family  does  wheat  belong?    From  what  land  was  it 
brought  to  the  United  States?    Name  some  of  the  countries  where 
it  is  grown. 

2.  Locate  the  Red  River  valley.    Describe  your  visit  to  a  wheat 
farm  in  that  region.    Why  can  tractors  be  used  there?    What  ad- 
vantages has  a  tractor  over  horses? 

3.  What  is  spring  wheat?    Winter  wheat?     What  are  the  chief 
spring-wheat  states?    The  chief  winter-wheat  states?    Which  states 
send  most  of  their  exports  to  Asia? 

4.  Trace  a  bushel  of  wheat  from  the  grain  drill  to  the  elevator. 
Trace  a  barrel  of  flour  from  Minneapolis  to  your  own  home.    How 
does  it  travel  and  how  far  does  it  go? 

5.  Follow  a  barrel  of  flour  from  Minneapolis  to  Hamburg,  via 
Duluth,  Buffalo,  and  New  York,  going  all  the  way  by  water.    Trace  a 
bushel  of  wheat  from  San  Francisco  to  Liverpool.   Through  what  canal 
does  it  go?    How  far  does  it  travel?    (See  page  496.)    Trace  a  bushel 
from  Seattle  to  Shanghai. 


Filling  barrels  with  flour  by  machinery. 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 15  24* 


242  NORTH  AMERICA 

6.  When  is  wheat  planted  and  harvested  in  Ohio?     In  North 
Dakota? 

7.  Compare  wheat  with  corn.    Can  you  guess  why  wheat  is  some- 
times called  the  lazy  man's  crop? 

8.  Locate  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul.    Show  why  large  cities  have 
grown  up  at  that  point. 


XXXIII.  THE  IRON  MINES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR 

FROM  St.  Paul  we  go  to  Duluth  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior.  The  distance  is  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
two  miles,  and  the  journey  by  rail  is  made  within  five  or 
six  hours.  It  takes  us  from  the  head  of  navigation  on  the 
Mississippi  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Great  Lakes, 
and  we  are  almost  ready  to  start  on  our  voyage  down  that 
wonderful  waterway. 

But  we  must  first  see  something  of  the  iron  mines  and 
lumber  regions  about  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Michigan. 
We  shall  visit  the  iron  mines  first. 

A  great  part  of  our  riches  comes  from  iron.  We  are  now 
mining  more  iron  than  any  other  country,,  and  we  lead  the 
world  in  the  production  of  things  made  from  iron  and 
steel.  No  other  land  has  such  extensive  beds  of  iron  ore  as 
the  United  States,  and  nowhere  else  have  we  so  much  ore  as 
right  here  about  Lake  Superior.  More  than  three  fourths 
of  the  iron  we  have  taken  out  of  the  earth  has  come  from 
this  region,  and  we  sometimes  mine  in  one  year  as  much  as 
seventy-five  million  tons.  This  is  more  than  enough  to 
make  thirty  million  tons  of  steel ;  so  much  that  if  turned  into 
steel  rails  weighing  fifty  pounds  to  the  yard  it  would  be 
sufficient  to  lay  a  track  three  hundred  thousand  miles  long. 
This  is  more  railway  track  than  we  have  in  the  whole 


THE  IRON  MINES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR  243 

United  States,  and  far  more  than  that  of  all  the  railways  of 
Europe  and  Asia. 

In  addition  to  our  Lake  Superior  iron,  we  have  iron  in 
many  other  parts  of  the  Union.  It  is  mined  in  twenty-six 
different  states,  and  there  are  vast  beds  of  it  in  Tennessee, 
Alabama,  Virginia,  and  Georgia.  For  a  long  time  Penn- 
sylvania was  our  chief  source  of  supply.  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Ohio  all  produce  iron,  and  Texas,  Wyoming, 
and  Utah  have  extensive  deposits.  In  fact,  North  America 
is  supposed  to  have  more  iron  ore  than  any  other  part  of  the 
globe,  although  iron  is  found  in  every  continent,  and  is 
mined  in  large  quantities  hi  many  of  the  countries  of 
Europe. 

Iron  is  the  most  abundant  of  all  metals,  and  it  has  been 
used  by  man  in  one  way  or  another  for  thousands  of  years. 
In  the  British  Museum  is  an  Egyptian  axhead  dating  from 
1370  B.  C.  and  a  piece  of  iron  taken  from  the  great  pyramid 
near  Cairo  which  is  believed  to  be  about  six  thousand  years 
old.  A  fragment  of  a  saw  forty-four  inches  long,  which  was 
in  use  almost  three  thousand  years  ago,  was  found  in  some 
ruins  on  the  banks  of  the  Tigris  River,  and  near  Delhi  in 
India  I  have  seen  a  famous  iron  pillar  which  dates  from 
400  B.  c.  This  pillar  is  twenty-two  feet  high  and  weighs 
about  six  tons.  It  was  made  by  welding  disks  of  iron 
together.  The  Greeks  used  iron,  and  the  Romans  made 
both  wrought  iron  and  steel.  To-day  there  is  hardly  a 
man,  woman,  or  child  in  the  world  who  does  not  use  iron 
every  day  in  some  form  or  other,  and  we  are  dependent  upon 
iron  and  steel  for  the  making  of  nearly  all  the  things  that 
we  eat,  drink,  or  wear. 

As  iron  ore  lies  in  the  earth  it  is  in  beds,  or  in  veins  or 
pockets  walled  about  with  rock,  and  the  metal  is  not  pure 
but  combined  with  other  elements,  as  it  is  in  iron  rust. 


244  NORTH  AMERICA 

i 

It  is  only  by  smelting  the  ore  with  limestone,  that  we  can 
get  the  iron  out,  nearly  pure. 

Now  smelting  requires  coal,  but  there  are  no  good  coal 
fields  within  hundreds  of  miles  of  Lake  Superior.  There- 
fore the  iron  ore  must  be  brought  to  the  coal,  or  the  coal 
must  be  brought  to  the  iron.  It  is  found  that  the  iron  can 
be  taken  more  cheaply  to  the  coal  than  the  coal  to  the  iron. 
Therefore,  most  of  the  ore  is  carried  down  through  the 
Great  Lakes  to  Chicago,  Gary,  Toledo,  Cleveland,  Buffalo, 
and  to  other  ports  from  which  it  is  sent  by  rail  to  the  cities 
of  the  Pittsburgh  district.  At  these  ports  and  cities  the 
coal  and  iron  are  easily  brought  together,  and  hence  we 
shall  find  there  large  manufacturing  industries  of  iron  and 
steel. 

But  let  us  visit  some  of  the  mining  districts  of  the 
Lake  Superior  region.  We  shall  go  first  to  Hibbing  in 
the  Mesa'bi  Range  not  far  west  of  Lake  Superior.  We 
are  one  thousand  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  lake,  and 
sixteen  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  We 
are  on  the  height  of  land  just  about  halfway  between  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Arctic  Ocean.  All  about  us  are 
great  mines  in  which  steam  shovels  are  digging  the  ore 
out  of  the  earth,  and  loading  it  upon  the  cars.  Long 
train  loads  of  ore  shoot  by  us  on  their  way  down  to  the 
lake.  There  they  will  run  out  upon  a  high  track  and 
drop  their  loads  into  huge  bins  where  by  opening  a  steel 
trough  in  the  bottom  the  ore  can  be  run  down  into  the 
steamers.  The  machinery  of  mining,  loading,  and  trans- 
portation is  such  that  the  ore  does  not  need  to  be  touched 
by  the  hand  of  man  between  the  bed  in  which  it  lies  and 
the  furnaces,  almost  one  thousand  miles  away.  Huge 
unloaders  will  pick  the  iron  out  of  the  steamers  and  drop  it 
into  the  cars  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  tons  every  two  minutes. 


Loading  iron  ore  at  Duluth.     From  each  bin  a  long  steel  chute  pours 

the  ore  into  the  ship. 

245 


246  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  cars  will  be  unloaded  by  machinery,  and  steam  or  elec- 
tricity will  carry  the  ore  to  the  top  of  the  furnaces,  from 
which  the  metal  will  flow  out  to  be  made  into  pig  iron  and 
then  into  steel. 

Before  going  to  the  mines  we  ask  how  men  can  tell 
where  the  ore  beds  lie  in  the  earth.  We  are  shown  the 
diamond  drills,  great  machines  which  cut  out  holes  or 
wells  in  the  rock  as  big  around  as  a  tumbler,  and  bring 
up  cores  of  the  strata  through  which  they  go.  Some  of 
the  holes  thus  made  are  a  thousand  feet  deep,  and  the  core 
shows  the  character  of  the  rock  all  the  way  down.  If 
there  is  iron  one  can  see  just  where  it  lies.  By  making 
many  such  holes  they  could  mark  out  the  exact  extent  and 
form  of  each  ore  deposit.  This  was  the  first  thing  to  be 
done.  After  that,  the  men  tell  us,  they  had  to  clear  the 
land,  for  the  whole  country  was  covered  with  forests,  and 
then  take  away  the  earth  and  rock  above  the  ore  bed.  This 
was  done  with  steam  shovels,  the  mass  being  carried  away  on 
cars.  After  that  the  ore  was  ready  to  be  dug  out  and  loaded 
upon  the  trains  which  transport  it  to  the  ships  on  Lake 
Superior. 

We  can  easily  see  the  methods  of  mining  by  going  to 
one  of  the  great  pits  from  which  ore  is  now  being  taken. 
We  select  a  mine  so  near  Hibbing  that  we  can  easily  walk 
to  it.  This  mine  is  an  oval  pit  of  more  than  three  hundred 
acres,  out  of  which  more  than  sixty  million  tons  of  ore 
have  been  mined,  and  which  is  still  producing  several 
million  tons  every  year. 

As  we  stand  on  the  grass  at  the  edge  of  the  mine  we 
are,  as  it  were,  on  the  top  seats  of  an  amphitheater,  the 
arena  or  bottom  of  which  is  as  large  as  a  good-sized  farm. 
The  sides  of  the  amphitheater  slope  to  the  bottom  and  we 
can  see  the  strata  of  earth,  clay,  and  rock  which  the  steam 


Iron  mine.    The  big  shovel  is  worked  by  steam  power. 
247 


248  NORTH  AMERICA 

shovels  had  to  carry  away  before  the  ore  bed  was  reached. 
There  are  railroads  running  around  the  walls  of  the  mine, 
and  the  tracks  are  so  arranged  that  the  ore  is  easily  hauled 
to  the  surface.  In  the  pit  itself  men  are  now  digging 
and  preparing  for  blasting,  and  steam  shovels  are  lifting 
the  iron  up  and  dropping  it  into  the  cars.  One  shovel 
will  take  up  two  tons  at  a  bite  and  will  fill  a  fifty-ton  car 
in  less  than  five  minutes. 

In  another  part  of  this  region  we  visit  mines  where  the 
ore  is  so  far  down  that  it  is  cheaper  to  mine  it  by  under- 
ground workings.  We  go  on  elevators  down  the  shafts 
which  lead  to  the  mines,  and  walk  about  through  the  huge 
chambers  out  of  which  the  ore  has  been  cut  and  shipped 
to  the  surface.  The  roofs  are  upheld  by  huge  timbers,  and 
some  chambers  have  floors  of  thick  logs.  After  the  ore 
has  been  all  taken  out  the  roof  is  allowed  to  drop  and  the 
floor  is  made  to  serve  as  the  roof  for  another  chamber 
which  is  cut  out  below.  The  underground  mines  are 
lighted  by  electricity,  and  the  cars  and  other  machinery 
are  moved  by  the  same  power. 

Coming  back  to  Hibbing,  we  take  an  automobile  and 
ride  from  one  mining  town  to  another.  We  are  surprised 
to  find  excellent  roads,  here  away  off  in  the  wilds.  The 
schoolhouses  are  better  than  those  of  many  of  the  cities 
of  other  parts  of  Minnesota  and  some  of  them  have  ath- 
letic grounds  and  swimming  tanks.  Even  the  villages 
are  lighted  with  electric  lights,  and  some  have  public 
libraries  and  parks.  The  money  for  such  things  comes 
largely  from  the  royalties  paid  by  the  companies,  which 
operate  the  mines  at  so  much  per  ton  on  the  ore  taken 
out.  Many  of  the  counties  and  towns  own  the  land  where 
the  ore  lies  and  rent  it  out  at  such  prices  that  the  rent 
pays  most  of  the  taxes. 


THE  IRON  MINES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR  249 

Leaving  the  Mesabi  Range,  we  visit  other  iron  regions 
in  Minnesota;  and  then  going  to  the  south  shores  of  Lake 
Superior,  we  travel  through  the  hills  of  Wisconsin  and 
Michigan,  where  are  other  iron  ore  reserves  of  wonderful 
extent. 

In  the  same  district  we  visit  the  copper  mines  of  Calumet 
and  Hecla  on  the  Ke'weenaw  Peninsula,  which  juts  out 
into  the  lake.  Here,  beginning  at  the  surface  and  ex- 
tending far  down,  is  a  mass  of  rock  which  is  streaked  and 
veined  with  almost  pure  copper.  There  are  copper  mines 
in  northern  Michigan  which  are  a  half  mile  or  even  a 
mile  deep.  The  ore  is  taken  to  the  mills  not  far  away  and 
is  there  crushed  into  powder  and  washed.  After  this  the 
copper  is  smelted  in  great  furnaces,  from  which  it  flows 
out  and  is  molded  into  copper  bars.  The  bars  are 
shipped  down  the  lakes  to  the  factories  where  they  are 
manufactured  into  wire  or  the  many  other  things  for 
which  copper  is  used.  The  copper  is  mixed  with  zinc  in 
the  making  of  brass  and  it  is  largely  employed  in  electrical 
machinery  of  various  kinds. 

A  story  is  told  of  how  the  copper  deposits  of  Lake  Su- 
perior were  discovered  by  a  pig  which  had  fallen  into  a 
hole  and  was  trying  to  root  its  way  out.  In  doing  so  it 
uncovered  some  nuggets  of  this  wonderful  metal.  Since 
then  more  than  five  billion  pounds  of  copper  have  been 
taken  out  of  the  Lake  Superior  region,  and  it  is  said  that 
there  is  more  than  half  as  much  left.  We  shall  learn  more 
about  this  important  metal  when  we  travel  through  our 
western  highlands,  from  which  most  of  our  copper  now 
comes. 

i.  Make  a  list  of  twenty  things  that  are  made  of  iron  or  by  means 
of  it,  selecting  ten  from  the  room  in  which  you  now  are.  What 
factories  in  or  near  your  town  are  connected  with  the  iron  industry? 


250  NORTH  AMERICA 

2.  How  long  has  iron  been  used  by  man?    Tell  something  of  its 
history. 

3.  How  do  men  find  where  the  ore  lies  in  the  earth?    Compare  the 
iron  production  of  the  United  States  with  that  of  other  countries. 
(See  page  499.)    Compare  that  of  the  Lake  Superior  region  with  the 
rest  of  the  United  States. 

4.  Suppose  all  the  steel  tracks  of  our  railways  were  taken  away. 
How  soon  could  the  Lake  Superior  mines  supply  enough  iron  ore  to 
make  the  steel  to  replace  them? 

5.  Describe  your  visit  to  the  mines  of  the  Mesabi  range.    What  is 
open-pit  mining?    What  is  underground  mining? 

6.  Trace  a  ton  of  ore  from  the  mines  to  the  smelters.    How  far 
does  it  travel  from  Duluth  to  Detroit?    To  Cleveland?    To  Chicago? 
(See  pages  218-219.) 

7.  Why  is  not  the  Lake  Superior  ore  smelted  at  the  mines? 

8.  Where  is  copper  found  in  the  Lake  Superior  region?    Where  are 
our  chief  copper  deposits? 


XXXIV.  A  TRAMP  THROUGH  THE  WOODS  —  OUR 
LUMBER  INDUSTRY 

PUT  on  your  rough  clothing  and  hobnail  shoes  and 
get  ready  for  a  tramp  through  the  woods.  We  are 
now  in  one  of  the  largest  lumber  regions  of  the  United 
States.  We  can  go  out  to  the  camps  where  the  lumbermen 
are  felling  trees  and  visit  the  sawmills  where  they  are 
sawing  the  logs  into  lumber.  Not  many  years  ago  we 
might  have  traveled  east  and  south  from  here  for  hun- 
dreds of  miles  and  seen  nothing  but  pines  and  other  tall 
trees.  This  is  a  part  of  the  great  forest  tract  that  covered 
the  northern  and  eastern  part  of  our  continent  when  the 
New  World  was  discovered.  At  that  time  almost  one 
third  of  what  is  now  the  United  States  was  thickly  wooded> 


A  TRAMP  THROUGH  THE  WOODS  251 

The  timber  that  then  stood  upon  it  has  been  estimated 
by  our  Forestry  Service  at  more  than  five  thousand  bil- 
lion square  feet,  or  enough  to  make  a  boardwalk  a  foot 
wide,  an  inch  thick,  and  so  long  that  it  would  reach  ten 
times  as  far  as  from  here  to  the  sun.  The  total  area  of 
those  woodlands  was  equal  to  almost  one  third  of  all 
Europe. 

This  vast  tract  was  made  up  of  five  immense  forests. 
In  the  eastern  part  of  our  country,  beginning  at  the  ocean 
and  running  westward,  were  the  northern  woods,  the  cen- 
tral woods,  and  the  southern  woods.  The  northern  woods, 
which  covered  an  area  six  times  as  great  as  that  of  Ohio, 
were  the  home  of  the  white  pine.  The  southern  woods, 
in  which  we  have  already  traveled,  were  chiefly  cypress 
and  yellow  pine;  they  were  about  equal  in  area  to  the 
woods  of  the  north.  The  central  forests  covered  more 
territory  than  those  of  either  the  North  or  the  South,  and 
their  timber  was  largely  oaks,  beeches,  maples,  and  other 
hardwoods. 

In  addition  to  these  woodlands  of  the  east  were  the 
forests  found  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  on  the  Pacific 
Coast.  Their  areas  were  not  so  large,  but  the  trees  of  the 
Pacific  region  were  of  such  enormous  size  that  the  lumber 
in  them  almost  equaled  that  of  the  hardwood  central 
forest  of  our  eastern  states.  They  had  the  redwoods  and 
"big  trees,"  the  giants  of  California,  the  largest  trees 
known  to  man,  and  also  the  western  yellow  pine  and  the 
Douglas  fir.  It  is  from  the  latter  trees  that  a  large  part  of 
our  lumber  to-day  comes. 

Long  after  the  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi  were  settled 
we  had  so  many  trees  that  no  one  thought  of  saving  them. 
The  pioneers  cut  them  down  as  fact  as  they  could,  piled 
them  up  where  they  fell,  and  burned  them  to  get  the  land 


252  NORTH  AMERICA 

clear  for  farms.  Sometimes  they  burned  the  logs  for  the 
potash  in  the  ashes.  Vast  tracts  were  wasted  also  by 
forest  fires,  and  the  lumbering  was  done  in  such  a  way 
that  much  of  the  best  wood  was  lost.  This  destruction 
of  our  forests  continued  for  years,  and  more  than  half  of 
all  our  timber  has  now  disappeared. 

The  work  of  felling  the  trees  is  still  going  on  wastefully. 
In  the  woodlands  of  the  South  lumbermen  are  moving 
from  one  forest  to  another  in  little  houses  so  made  that 
they  can  be  carried  upon  the  railroad  and  lifted  on  and 
off  the  cars  at  will.  Along  the  Great  Lakes,  a  great  part  of 
the  forests  has  been  cut  away,  and  along  the  Pacific  Coast 
woods  lumbermen  are  felling  eight  or  ten  billion  feet  of 
timber  per  annum.  In  1918  we  had  about  fifteen  thousand 
sawmills,  some  of  which  worked  day  and  night.  The 
annual  cut  at  that  time  was  almost  thirty-two  billion  feet 
of  lumber,  board  measure.  If  it  should  keep  on  the  same 
way  within  a  comparatively  few  years  we  should  have  no 
lumber  left. 

We  wonder  what  we  shall  do  for  wood  in  the  future. 
The  thought  makes  us  tremble;  for  how  in  the  world 
could  we  get  on  without  wood?  It  is  wood  that  forms 
most  of  our  houses,  and  almost  all  of  our  furniture.  It 
bridges  our  streams,  timbers  our  mines,  and  holds  in  place 
the  steel  rails  over  which  we  fly  on  the  cars.  We  soar 
through  the  skies  in  airplanes  with  wooden  propellers 
and  we  move  over  the  ocean  in  steamers  in  which  much 
wood  is  used.  In  one  year  we  employ  more  than  one  billion 
feet  of  timber  for  telegraph  poles  and  fence  posts  and  rails. 
We  use  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  million  cubic  feet  a 
year  for  timbering  mines,  and  an  enormous  amount  for 
barrels.  We  grind  up  millions  of  cords  of  soft  wood  every 
year  to  make  paper,  and  hundreds  of  acres  of  forests  are 


OUR  LUMBER  INDUSTRY  253 

annually  burned  up  as  matches.  There  is  a  factory  in 
Maine  that  turns  out  a  half  billion  toothpicks  every  twelve 
months,  and  there  are  other  establishments  that  make 
spools  and  clothespins  by  the  hundreds  of  millions.  In- 
deed there  are  so  many  uses  of  wood  we  cannot  mention 
them  all. 

To  replace  the  woods  which  have  already  been  cut,  to 
give  us  lumber  for  the  future,  and  to  preserve  the  forests 
as  a  cover  for  our  water  supply,  our  government  is  now 
advising  the  people  everywhere  to  plant  trees.  It  has  also 
set  aside  several  hundred  million  acres  in  various  parts  of 
our  country  as  national  forests,  where  the  trees  will  be 
cared  for,  and  only  those  which  have  reached  their  full 
growth  will  be  cut.  In  addition  thirty-three  of  our  states 
are  reserving  large  tracts  of  public  forest,  and  in  many 
places  trees  are  being  planted.  The  national  and  state 
forests  comprise  about  one  fourth  of  the  woodland  we 
now  have. 

Lumbering  in  the  Great  Lakes  region  is  done  best  when 
there  is  snow  on  the  ground.  Then  the  logs  can  be  hauled 
on  sledges  down  to  the  streams  and  piled  up  on  the 
banks  or  on  the  ice.  They  are  often  rolled  out  upon  the 
ice  so  that  for  a  long  distance  a  stream  may  be  covered 
with  them.  The  ice  is  sometimes  several  feet  thick,  and 
it  does  not  break  under  the  great  weight.  When  the  spring 
thaws  come  the  streams  rise,  and  the  freshets  carry  the 
logs  down  to  the  lakes  or  to  rivers  upon  which  they  can 
be  floated  to  the  mills. 

Lumbering  usually  begins  in  the  fall.  At  that  time  the 
men  go  into  the  woods,  and  build  log  cabins  for  their  winter 
homes,  filling  the  cracks  between  the  logs  with  mud  and 
sod.  They  have  fires  to  keep  themselves  warm.  Often 
fifty  men  will  live  in  one  cabin,  sleeping  in  bunks  which 


OUR  LUMBER  INDUSTRY  255 

run  in  tiers  around  the  walls.  They  eat  at  a  common 
table,  using  tin  plates  and  other  dishes  which  will  not 
easily  break.  They  take  with  them  enough  provisions  to 
last  all  winter,  and  their  pork  and  canned  meats  and 
hot  breads  are  often  varied  by  wild  turkey  roasts, 
venison  stews,  or  bear  steaks  from  game  shot  upon  the 
ground. 

In  felling  the  forest  everything  is  done  according  to 
system.  The  underchopper  first  goes  through  the  forest 
and  marks  those  trees  which  will  make  the  best  lumber, 
and  after  him  come  the  axemen  and  sawyers.  The  sawyers 
make  a  cut  about  the  trunk  near  the  earth  with  a  long  saw, 
which  they  pull  back  and  forth.  Then  the  men  chop  above 
and  beyond  the  cut  until  the  giant  of  the  forest  drops 
with  a  crash  to  the  ground.  After  this  the  limbs  must  be 
trimmed  off  and  the  trunk  sawed  into  logs. 

In  getting  the  logs  to  the  stream  the  snow  roads  are 
sprinkled  with  water  which  Jack  Frost  turns  to  ice.  Such 
roads  are  so  slippery  that  the  horses,  sharp  shod  by  the 
camp  blacksmith,  can  haul  over  them  many  times  as 
much  as  they  could  on  a  common  road  with  a  wagon. 
A  load  of  logs  big  enough  to  fill  an  ordinary  bed- 
room from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling  is  thus  carried  down 
to  the  water. 

In  the  forests  of  the  South,  the  logs  are  slung  to  high 
,  wheeled  trucks  (picture,  page  256);  or  they  may  be  hauled 
to  a  railroad  by  means  of  a  steam  engine  to  which  is 
fastened  a  rope  as  thick  as  a  broom  handle  and  a  mile  or 
more  long.  This  is  wrapped  about  the  log  as  it  lies  hi 
the  forest.  Then  the  engine  is  started  and  it  winds  up 
the  rope  thus  dragging  the  log  to  the  cars.  In  the  Pacific 
Coast  forests,  which  we  shall  visit  later  on  in  our  travels, 
a  single  log  often  makes  a  carload. 


256 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Hauling  a  big  log  to  mill  in  the  South. 

It  is  interesting  to  follow  the  logs  down  the  streams  to 
the  sawmills.  A  gang  of  men  goes  along  with  each  drive 
to  keep  the  logs  moving  and  prevent  them  from  catching 
on  the  banks  and  causing  a  jam.  The  men  walk  on  the 
logs  from  one  to  another,  holding  them  apart  and  keeping 
them  straight.  The  men  have  sharp  nails  in  the  soles  of 
their  boots  to  give  them  a  sure  footing,  and  they  use  long 
poles  ending  in  hooks  and  spikes  to  push  and  pull  the  legs 
this  way  and  that.  When  a  jam  occurs,  the  logs  aet  as 
if  they  were  crazy.  They  climb  one  on  top  of  another;  some 
dive  under  the  jam  and  some  stand  on  end  against  it.  After 


OUR  LUMBER  INDUSTRY 


257 


a  while  they  become  so  wedged  into  one  mass  that  it  is 
hard  to  see  how  they  can  be  taken  apart.  However,  the 
logger  goes  with  his  pikes  to  the  front  of  the  jam  and  inch 


A  log  jam.    The  lumbermen  pry  the  logs  apart  with  long  poles. 

by  inch  pulls  out  the  logs  forming  its  keystone,  and  then 
the  whole  jam  comes  tumbling  down  the  river. 

When  the  logs  get  to  the  sawmills  they  are  handled  by 
machinery.  They  seem  to  crawl  like  live  things  out  of  the 
water  and  up  the  gangways,  and  on  to  the  saws.  Some  of 
the  mills  have  gang  saws,  each  of  which  consists  of  a  number 
of  saws  that  move  up  and  down  through  the  log,  cutting 
the  whole  into  boards  at  once.  Others  use  the  band  saw, 
a  wide  belt  of  steel  with  teeth  on  one  edge.  This  moves 
like  a  band  of  leather  upon  two  great  wheels,  one  of  which 
is  high  over  the  other.  As  the  steel  belt  flies  round,  the 
teeth  on  its  front  edge  saw  through  the  log,  making  boards 
even  faster  than  the  gang  saws. 


CARP.    N.    AMER. — 16 


258  NORTH  AMERICA 

1.  When  America  was  discovered  what  part  of  our  country  was 
covered  with  woods?    Where  was  the  home  of  the  white  pine?    Of 
the  yellow  pine  and  the  cypress?    Of  most  of  the  hardwoods?    What 
kind  of  trees  grow  in  the  far  west? 

2.  About  how  much  lumber  do  we  cut  in  one  year?    Estimating 
the  present  stand  of  timber  at  twenty-five  hundred  billion  feet,  how 
long  will  our  lumber  last  at  this  rate? 

3.  Look  about  the  school  room  and  point  out  the  places  where 
wood  is  used.     Mention  other  uses.     Imagine  how  men  could  get 
along  in  a  world  without  wood.    What  might  take  its  place? 

4.  Of  what  is  this  book  made?    Of  what  are  newspapers  made? 

5.  Why  is  lumbering  about  the  Great  Lakes  carried  on  in  the 
winter? 

6.  Visit  a  lumber  camp  and  describe  the  work  you  see  there. 
Visit  a  lumber  mill  and  describe  it. 


XXXV.  THE   GREAT   LAKES  — OUR   MOST 
IMPORTANT  WATERWAY 

WE  have  returned  to  Duluth  and  are  now  ready  to 
start  on  our  voyage  down  the  Great  Lakes.  We  arc 
at  the  chief  United  States  terminal  of  the  most  wonderful 
inland  water  route  upon  earth.  The  Great  Lakes,  includ- 
ing the  St.  Lawrence  River,  form  a  navigable  waterway 
more  than  two  thirds  as  long  as  from  New  York  to  Liver- 
pool. The  shore  line  of  the  lakes  gives  access  to  eight  of 
our  greatest  states,  whose  population  is  more  than  one 
third  of  that  of  the  Union  and  whose  agricultural  and 
mineral  products  are  of  enormous  importance.  The  lakes 
connect  us  also  with  an  almost  equal  area  in  Canada,  with 
its  immense  resources  in  grain,  timber,  and  minerals  of 
many  kinds. 

The  upper  lakes  are  frozen  during  the  winter,  and  for 


THE  GREAT  LAKES  259 

the  five  months  from  November  to  April  are  almost  as 
deserted  as  the  icy  seas  about  the  North  Pole.  It  is  only 
in  the  seven  warmer  months  that  ships  can  navigate  them, 
but  in  that  time  more  freight  is  carried  upon  them  than  is 
brought  into  any  port  of  the  world  in  one  year.  Through- 
out the  summer,  day  and  night,  there  moves  over  this 
waterway  an  almost  endless  fleet  of  steel  steamships, 
barges,  whalebacks,  and  magnificent  passenger  vessels, 
carrying  millions  of  tons  of  freight  and  thousands  of  people 
to  and  fro.  Within  one  season  the  ore  fleet  carries  down 
the  lakes  more  than  sixty  million  tons  of  ore  from  the 
iron  mines  about  Lake  Superior,  and  the  wheat  fleet  trans- 
ports more  than  a  quarter  of  a  billion  bushels.  Many  of 
these  vessels  bring  back  coal  to  supply  the  northwestern 
part  of  our  country,  carrying  in  one  season  enough  to  fill 
a  train  of  fifty-ton  cars  reaching  from  Boston  to  San 
Francisco. 

All  this  is  done  at  low  cost.  Before  the  World  War  the 
freight  rates  in  the  lakes  were  lower  than  now.  At  that 
time  a  bushel  of  wheat  was  taken  from  Duluth  to  Buffalo, 
a  distance  of  one  thousand  miles,  for  one  cent  and  a  half, 
and  two  tons  of  iron  ore  from  the  mines  of  Lake  Superior 
to  the  ports  of  Lake  Erie  for  little  more  than  one  dollar. 
The  rates  are  higher  now,  but  they  are  far  lower  than 
those  of  the  railway. 

But  before  we  go  farther  let  us  examine  the  basin  in 
which  these  vast  fresh-water  seas  lie.  It  is  situated  on 
the  crown  of  the  eastern  part  of  our  continent,  so  that  on 
the  north  just  over  the  rim  the  ground  slopes  toward 
Hudson  Bay,  and  on  the  south  toward  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  rim  of  parts  of  the  basin  on  the  south  is  so  low  that 
canals  have  been  cut  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  River,  and 
from  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi 


260  NORTH  AMERICA 

River,  and  goods  might  be  carried  from  the  lakes  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  in  that  way.  From  Lake  Erie  at  Buffalo, 
the  New  York  Barge  Canal  transports  freight  to  the  Hud- 
son River,  upon  which  it  goes  to  the  port  of  New  York. 
The  northern  rim  of  the  basin  also  is  low,  and  a  traveler 
can  paddle  his  way  up  the  streams  flowing  from  the  north 
into  Lake  Superior,  and,  by  carrying  his  canoe  a  short 
distance,-  can  drop  it  into  other  streams  and  float  down  to 
Hudson  Bay. 

An  important  feature  of  the  Great  Lakes  basin  is  that 
it  tilts  gently  toward  the  east  from  where  we  are  now 
clear  out  to  the  ocean.  The  descent  is  all  together  only  six 
hundred  feet  in  about  two  thousand  miles,  and  most  of 


Diagram  showing  the  Lake  Terraces 

this  is  made  in  three  steps.  At  the  top  is  Lake  Superior, 
the  surface  of  which  is  about  fifty  feet  higher  above  the 
sea  then  the  top  of  the  Washington  Monument.  The 
first  step  or  drop  is  about  twenty  feet,  and  is  made  where 
Lake  Superior  pours  into  Lake  Huron.  Below  this  point 
we  find  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan,  and  Erie  on  nearly  the  same 
level.  The  second  great  step  or  drop  is  at  the  rapids  and 
falls  of  Niagara  River,  where  the  waters  pour  down  to  the 
level  of  Lake  Ontario.  From  there  they  flow  on  through 
the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  out  to  the  sea,  with  a  third 
step  or  drop  at  the  rapids  in  that  river. 


THE  GREAT  LAKES  261 

But  how  do  the  steamers  with  their  loads  of  freight 
climb  up  and  down  these  steps? 

They  cannot  go  from  Ontario  up  the  swift  Niagara 
River  and  mount  the  falls;  nor  can  they  make  their  way  up 
through  the  rocky  rapids  of  the  St.  Marys  River,  over 
which  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior  foam  as  they  rush  on 
toward  Lake  Huron.  No;  that  is  impossible.  The  ships 
must  be  lifted  or  let  down  from  one  level  to  another  by 
means  of  lock  canals.  Such  canals  have  been  built  between 
Lake  Ontario  and  Lake  Erie,  and  around  St.  Marys  Falls 
between  Lake  Huron  and  Lake  Superior.  There  are  other 
canals  with  locks  around  the  rapids  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
The  surface  of  the  Great  Lakes  is  level  and  the  steamers 
move  back  and  forth  as  though  on  the  ocean. 

We  are  now  ready  to  begin  our  trip  down  the  lakes. 
The  most  wonderful  feature  of  our  voyage  will  be  passing 
through  the  locks  at  St.  Marys.  Our  steamer  is  a  hollow 
shell  of  steel  almost  six  hundred  feet  long  and  sixty  feet  wide. 
Its  hold  is  twenty  feet  deep  and  is  divided  into  hatches 
which  contain  twelve  thousand  tons  of  iron  ore.  The 
engines  are  at  the  stern  and  they  move  the  ship  onward 
by  a  screw  propeller,  which  whirls  around  at  the  rate  of 
ninety  revolutions  a  minute. 

The  vessel  makes  the  round  trip  from  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior  to  the  ports  of  Lake  Erie  and  return,  a  distance 
of  almost  two  thousand  miles,  in  about  one  week;  and  it 
goes  onward  so  steadily  that  we  hardly  know  we  are  steam- 
ing. We  leave  Duluth  in  the  morning  and  are  soon  out  of 
sight  of  land.  We  are  on  Lake  Superior,  the  largest  fresh- 
water lake  of  the  world,  its  only  rival  in  size  being  Lake 
Victoria  in  Central  Africa. 

It  is  four  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  Duluth  to 
the  "Soo,"  where  we  are  to  make  our  twenty-foot  jump 


262 


THE  SOO  CANAL  263 

down  to  Lake  Huron.  We  enter  the  St.  Marys  Canal 
and  come  to  the  locks.  There  are  two  on  the  American 
side  and  one  on  the  Canadian  side.  The  greatest  of  all  is 
the  Davis  Lock,  belonging  to  us.  It  is  thirteen  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  long,  eighty  feet  broad,  and  more  than  twenty- 
four  feet  in  depth.  It  will  hold  two  huge  steamers  like  ours. 
As  we  approach  it,  the  great  steel  water-tight  gates  facing 
us  open,  and  when  we  have  entered  they  again  come  to-, 
gether.  The  time  of  opening  and  closing  is  less  than  four 
minutes.  We  are  now  in  a  huge  vat  of  water,  with  the  deck 
of  our  steamer  far  above  the  walls  on  each  side.  We  can 
look  over  the  gates  at  the  front  and  see  the  waters  of  the 
St.  Marys  River  below  us. 

But  lo!  We  are  sinking.  The  holes  in  the  bottom  of 
the  lock  have  been  opened  and  the  steamer  drops  down, 
down,  as  the  water  flows  out,  until  at  last  it  is  on  the  level 
of  the  river  below.  Now  the  gates  in  front  of  us  move;  they 
are  soon  wide  open  and  we  steam  on  into  the  St.  Marys, 
which  leads  to  Lake  Huron.  The  lock  is  operated  by  elec- 
tricity and  it  has  lowered  our  huge  steamer  down  this  step 
in  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  hour. 

Here  at  the  St.  Marys  Canal  is  a  good  place  to  learn 
the  character  of  the  traffic  that  passes  up  and  down  this 
great  waterway.  A  record  is  kept  of  the  freight,  and  we 
find  that  its  volume  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  canal 
of  the  world.  It  is  many  times  that  of  the  Panama  Canal 
or  the  Suez  Canal,  and  still  it  does  not  include  the  cargoes 
that  go  out  of  Lake  Huron  through  the  Strait  of  Mackinac 
(mak'i-no)  into  Lake  Michigan,  which  form  a  large  part 
of  the  traffic  of  the  Great  Lakes.  In  1916  there  passed 
through  these  locks  at  the  "Soo"  fifteen  million  tons  of 
coal,  five  hundred  and  twenty  million  pounds  of  copper, 
and  sixty-three  million  tons  of  iron  ore.  There  were  raised 


264  NORTH  AMERICA 

or  lowered  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  tons  of  manu- 
factured iron,  seven  hundred  thousand  barrels  of  salt, 
ten  million  barrels  of  flour,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  million  bushels  of  wheat.  In  the  same  time  the  ships 
going  through  the  canal  carried  also  more  than  fifty-five 
thousand  passengers  and  more  than  a  million  and  a  half 
tons  of  merchandise. 

Leaving  the  "  Soo, "  we  traverse  Lake  Huron  and  enter 
the  St.  Clair  River,  which,  with  Lake  St.  Clair  and  the 
Detroit  River,  forms  the  down  spout  from  Lake  Huron 
to  Lake  Erie.  There  is  a  fall  of  only  eight  feet  in  the  whole 
length  of  these  rivers,  and  the  current  is  so  slight  that  we 
do  not  notice  it.  We  stop  a  day  or  so  in  the  river  at  Detroit 
and  then  move  on  through  the  Detroit  River  and  across 
Lake  Erie  to  Cleveland,  where  we  discharge  our  cargo  of 
ore  to  the  steel  mills  at  that  point.  A  night's  ride  on 
another  steamer  takes  us  to  Buffalo,  whence  the  New 
York  Barge  Canal  leads  down  to  the  Hudson  River,  giving 
a  waterway  the  whole  distance  from  Duluth  to  the  city  of 
New  York. 

1.  Locate  the  Great  Lakes  and  describe  them.     Which  is  the 
largest?    The  smallest? 

2.  Make  a  sketch  map  of  the  Great  Lakes,  showing  the  routes  of 
the  ships. 

3.  Name  the  states  which  border  the  lakes.    What  great  country 
lies  at  the  north?    What  part  of  the  lakes  does  it  own?    Which  lake 
belongs  wholly  to  the  United  States? 

4.  What  is  the  open  season  on  the  Great  Lakes?    Describe  your 
trip  through  the  locks  of  the  St.  Marys  Canal.     Why  are  locks 
needed?    Tell  how  they  are  operated.    What  is  the  drop  from  Lake 
Superior  to  the  Atlantic?  To  Lake  Huron?  From  Lake  Erie  to  Lake 
Ontario? 

5.  Name  some  items  of  traffic  on  the  Great  Lakes.    Which  weighs 
the  most?    Describe  our  steamer,  and  trace  the  route  from  Duluth 
to  Buffalo. 


Detroit  water  front  on  Detroit  River;  boats  from  many  Lake  ports. 

265 


266  NORTH  AMERICA 

XXXVI.  OUR  CITIES  ON  THE  LAKES 

SOME  of  the  largest  cities  of  the  United  States  are 
situated  on  the  Great  Lakes.  Chicago  is  surpassed 
in  size  only  by  New  York,  and  Detroit  ranks  next  to 
Philadelphia,  being  our  fourth  largest  city.  Cleveland 
comes  next,  and  still  farther  eastward,  at  the  foot  of  Lake 
Erie,  is  Buffalo,  an  important  grain,  steel,  and  coal  center 
at  the  place  where  the  traffic  of  the  New  York  Barge  Canal 
and  that  of  the  Great  Lakes  come  together.  Other  im- 
portant manufacturing  lake  cities  are  Toledo  (to-le'do), 
within  an  hour's  ride  of  Detroit;  Milwaukee,  within  a 
short  distance  by  steam  of  Chicago;  and  Duluth,  at  the 
head  of  Lake  Superior.  All  of  these  cities  have  grown 
because  of  the  cheap  transportation  on  the  lakes,  and 
because  of  certain  special  advantages  which  each  has 
from  the  country  surrounding  it. 

On  our  way  down  the  lakes  we  make  our  first  long  stop 
at  Detroit.  As  we  enter  the  river  we  are  one  of  a  great 
fleet  of  steamers,  which  during  the  open  lake  season 
moves  steadily  through  here  day  and  night.  There  are 
ships  carrying  copper  and  iron  ore  and  lumber  going  south 
and  others  loaded  with  coal  and  merchandise  on  their  way 
north.  The  ships  are  so  many  that  one  passes  the  city  of 
Detroit  every  three  minutes  during  the  season,  and  their 
freight  in  one  season  of  seven  months  is  so  great  that  it 
more  than  equals  that  of  the  Suez  Canal  in  one  year. 

Detroit  has  trunk  lines  of  railway  reaching  every  part  of 
the  United  States,  and  by  a  tunnel  under  the  river  it  has 
railway  connection  with  Canada.  It  has  the  best  facilities 
both  by  water  and  by  rail  for  getting  cheap  coal,  wood, 
iron,  and  other  raw  materials,  and  therefore  has  become 
a  great  manufacturing  center. 


OUR  CITIES  ON  THE  LAKES  267 

It  is  partly  on  this  account  that  Detroit  is  the  principal 
seat  of  our  motor  car  industry.  Riding  through  the  city, 
one  sees  many  great  factories  making  the  cars  and  trucks 
which  are  shipped  from  here  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
More  than  ninety  thousand  men  are  employed  in  making 
automobiles  and  things  connected  with  them,  and  the 
output  of  such  vehicles  in  one  year  has  numbered  more 
than  one  million. 

Some  of  the  motor  car  plants  cover  an  area  equal  to 
•that  of  a  good-sized  farm,  and  in  one  of  the  factories  we 
walk  through  a  room  which  covers  more  than  sixteen 
acres.  It  is  so  filled  with  machinery  that  it  looks  like  a 
great  forest  of  fast-moving  belts  and  wheels.  There  are 
fifty  miles  of  leather  belting  in  the  room,  and  its  eight 
thousand  machines  require  twenty-five  thousand  gallons 
of  lubricating  oil  every  twenty-four  hours.  As  we  stand 
at  one  end  of  it  we  cannot  see  the  walls  at  the  other,  and 
the  belts  are  so  many  that  they  almost  hide  the  ceiling. 
The  noise  is  deafening.  There  is  the  shrill  cutting  of  steel 
upon  steel,  the  buzzing  of  grinding  wheels  like  the  swarm- 
ing of  locusts,  and  the  pounding  of  hammers.  Here  and 
there  are  to  be  seen  men  in  blue  overalls  directing  the 
machines  or  feeding  the  steel  into  them. 

The  works  of  such  a  factory  are  so  arranged  that  there  is 
no  loss  of  motion.  The  raw  materials  in  the  shape  of  rough 
forgings  and  castings  start  in  at  one  end  of  the  building, 
and,  after  passing  through  many  machines,  come  out  at 
the  other  in  cars  and  trucks  ready  to  start  out  on  their 
work  of  transporting  men  and  goods  over  the  country. 
Detroit  has  one  plant  which  takes  the  ore  of  Lake  Su- 
perior, turns  it  into  steel,  and  then  passes  the  steel 
on  through  such  machines  and  such  skilled  handling  that 
when  it  comes  out  it  is  a  gasoline  farm  tractor  ready  to 


268 


NORTH  AMERICA 


take  the  place  of   horses   in   plowing   or   harrowing  or 
harvesting. 

Detroit  is  the  best  place  in  our  country  to  learn  about 
automobiles.  The  United  States  has  so  many  motor  cars 
that  there  is  now  one  to  every  three  or  four  families.  The 
number  is  over  seven  millions,  and  we  have  so  many  trucks 


Scene  in  Cadillac  Square,  Detroit.     This  is  the  chief  automobile 
center  of  the  country. 

that  they  do  a  great  part  of  our  hauling.     There  is  good 
reason  for  calling  this  the  motor  car  age. 

During  our  stay  we  take  automobiles  and  explore  De- 
troit, riding  for  miles  through  Woodward  and  Jefferson 
avenues  under  the  shade  of  their  magnificent  maples  and 
elms.  The  streets  are  so  many  that  if  joined  together 
they  would  reach  from  here  almost  all  the  way  to  New 


OUR  CITIES  ON  THE  LAKES  269 

York,  or  more  than  halfway  to  New  Orleans,  or  more  than 
one  fifth  of  the  distance  to  San  Francisco. 

We  take  the  ferry  and  cross  over  the  river  to  Windsor  in 
Canada  to  see  how  it  feels  to  have  one's  feet  on  foreign  soil; 
and  upon  our  return  we  take  automobiles  for  Toledo. 
Toledo  is  on  the  Maumee'  River  about  nine  miles  from 
Lake  Erie.  It  has  thirty  miles  of  frontage  on  the  river,  and 
more  than  twenty  miles  of  docks.  It  handles  immense 
quantities  of  grain  and  iron  ore  which  come  down  the 
lakes,  and  is  a  large  manufacturing  center,  making  au- 
tomobiles, plate  glass,  and  many  other  things.  It  has  one 
automobile  plant  employing  fifteen  thousand  persons, 
and  a  glass  factory  which  in  one  year  makes  more  than 
one  billion  bottles. 

From  Toledo  we  motor  over  excellent  roads  to  Cleve- 
land, stopping  on  the  way  at  Fremont,  which  was  the  home 
of  President  Hayes.  Cleveland  is  celebrated  for  its  manu- 
factures of  oil,  iron,  and  steel.  It  makes  ships  for  the  lake 
trade,  and  all  kinds  of  machinery.  It  is  situated  on  Lake 
Erie  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga  (kl-a-ho'ga)  River, 
at  a  place  where  the  iron  ore  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  soft 
coal  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  can  be  cheaply  brought 
together.  It  also  is  on  some  of  the  chief  trunk  lines  be- 
tween New  York  and  Chicago,  and  it  can  be  reached  over 
night  by  train  from  almost  any  part  of  our  country  lying 
between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the  Mississippi  River. 

We  stroll  from  our  hotel  down  to  the  wharves  and  watch 
the  unloading  of  iron  ore.  This  work  is  done  by  great 
machines.  A  man  by  pressing  a  button  causes  what  we 
might  call  a  steel  giant  to  reach  with  his  arm  down  into 
the  hold  of  the  ship  and  pick  up  in  his  fist  as  much  ore  as 
thirty  horses  could  haul  on  a  wagon.  The  giant's  hand, 
directed  by  the  man  above,  moves  around  through  the 


\ 


270 


OUR  CITIES  ON  THE  LAKES  271 

hold  and  scrapes  together  the  ore,  and  then,  as  the  man 
pulls  a  lever,  raises  and  drops  it  into  the  cars  in  which 
it  goes  to  the  furnaces.  This  is  only  figuratively  speaking. 
The  hand  is  in  fact  a  grab  bucket  whose  jaws  are  open 
when  it  drops  down  on  the  ore,  and  are  closed  at  the  will 
of  the  man  who  works  the  machinery.  The  machine 
moves  so  fast  that  it  costs  only  a  few  cents  a  ton  to  unload 
a  great  steamer,  a  single  giant  doing  the  work  of  hundreds 
of  men. 

Going  to  other  docks  not  far  away,  we  see  how  coal  is 
loaded.  The  cars  are  lifted  by  machinery  above  the  deck 
of  the  steamer  to  the  height  of  a  five-story  house,  and  the 
coal  is  dumped  into  a  chute  which  carries  it  into  the  hold. 
At  another  place  we  watch  men  loading  coal  with  grab 
buckets  much  like  those  used  for  unloading  the  ore.  Each 
bucket  has  two  great  jaws  which  will  swallow  twelve  tons 
at  one  bite. 

Cleveland  is  one  of  our  most  beautiful  cities.  It  has 
fifty  acres  of  lakes  and  ponds  in  its  parks,  and  we  are  able 
to  hire  bathing  suits  and  go  swimming.  We  stop  awhile 
with  the  children  in  their  many  playgrounds  and  watch  a 
game  of  baseball  on  one  of  the  diamonds.  Later  we  photo- 
graph the  bronze  statue  of  Captain  Oliver  H.  Perry,  in 
a  public  square  not  far  from  the  lake.  It  represents  Cap- 
tain Perry  when  he  commanded  our  fleet  and  captured 
^the  British  squadron  on  Lake  Erie  in  our  War  of  1812. 
Perry  was  only  twenty-seven  years  old  at  that  time.  The 
British  expected  an  easy  conquest,  but  Perry  was  victori- 
ous, and  in  sending  the  news  of  his  triumph  to  General 
William  Henry  Harrison,  he  used  these  famous  words: 

"  We  have  met  the  enemy,  and  they  are  ours. " 

After  strolling  along  Euclid  Avenue  we  go  to  the  ceme- 
tery near  the  lake  to  see  the  marble  monument  over  the 


272 


NORTH  AMERICA 


grave  of  President  Garfield,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  not 
far  away.  As  a  boy  he  worked  driving  mules  on  a  tow- 
path  of  the  Ohio  Canal. 

A  night's  ride  on  the  steamer  brings  us  from  Cleveland 
to  Buffalo.  The  city  is  situated  at  the  head  of  the  Niagara 
River  and  about  twenty  miles  above  Niagara  Falls. 

It  is  one  of  the  chief  gateways  between  the  sea  and  the 
vast  regions  of  the  upper  lakes.  Not  far  from  it  is  the 
head  of  the  Welland  Canal,  which,  passing  through  Canada, 
connects  Lake  Erie  with  Lake  Ontario.  The  city  is  the 


The  New  York  Barge  Canal  at  Buffalo.   The  canal  took  15  years  to 
build  and  cost  over  $180,000,000. 


OUR  CITIES  ON  THE  LAKES  273 

western  terminus  of  the  New  York  Barge  Canal  which  joins 
the  Great  Lakes  with  New  York  by  way  of  the  Hudson 
River. 

Buffalo  is  famous  also  for  its  excellent  railway  facilities, 
and  it  is  on  some  of  the  chief  automobile  and  motor  car 
routes  from  the  East  to  the  West.  Owing  to  the  cheap 
water  rate  at  which  grain  is  brought  from  Duluth,  Buffalo 
has  many  flour  mills,  and  its  cheap  freights  for  iron  and 
coal  have  aided  in  building  up  a  great  iron  and  steel  manu- 
facturing industry.  In  addition  the  cheap  electric  power 
generated  at  Niagara  Falls  comes  over  wires  to  the  city, 
running  its  street  cars  and  many  of  its  factories. 

During  our  stay  in  Buffalo  we  visit  the  mills,  and  then 
go  out  to  a  great  plant  where  hundreds  of  workmen  are 
turning  out  flying  machines  of  various  kinds.  We  are 
taken  by  aviators  out  to  the  aviation  field  and  each  of  us 
is  given  an  airplane  ride  through  the  skies.  The  pilots 
put  their  machines  through  all  sorts  of  motions.  They 
make  them  loop  the  loop,  turn  somersaults,  and  take 
nose  dives  this  way  and  that.  It  is  worse  than  riding  on 
a  huge  roller  coaster,  and  we  are  glad  when  we  glide  down 
to  the  ground. 

From  Buffalo  we  motor  eastward  to  Rochester,  about 
seventy  miles  away.  This  city  is  connected  with  the  New 
York  Barge  Canal,  and  is  noted  as  a  manufacturing  center. 
During  our  stay  we  visit  several  factories  to  see  how  cam- 
eras and  photographic  supplies  are  made,  and  see  men 
making  also  field  glasses,  opera  glasses,  and  spectacles.  On 
our  way  back  to  Buffalo,  we  pass  many  orchards,  and 
learn  that  this  region  south  of  Lake  Ontario  is  one  of  the 
chief  fruit-growing  centers  of  our  country,  where  millions 
of  bushels  of  apples,  peaches,  and  pears  are  raised  every 
year. 

CARP.    N.   AMER.— 17 


274  NORTH  AMERICA 

1.  Name  the  five  largest  cities  on  the  Great  Lakes.    Locate  each 
and  mention  some  of  the  things  for  which  it  is  noted. 

2.  Give  some  reasons  why  Detroit  is  the  center  of  our  automobile 
industry.    Visit  a  motor  car  factory  and  tell  what  you  see. 

3.  Find  out  all  you  can  about  automobiles,  motor  trucks,  and 
tractors  and  tell  why  they  are  needed.     Of  what  are  they  made? 
Where  are  some  of  the  more  important  materials  produced?     The 
iron?    The  rubber? 

4.  How  is  Detroit  connected  with  Canada? 

5.  Why  has  Cleveland  become  a  great  manufacturing  center? 
-Find  out  from  your  history  all  you  can  about  the  War  of  1812  and 
the  battle  of  Lake  Erie.    What  young  American  was  the  victor  in 
that  battle?    When  was  Garfield  President  of  the  United  States? 
Tell  the  story  of  his  death. 

6.  Mention  some  of  the  advantages  Buffalo  has  for  manufacture 
and  trade.    What  force  operates  the  street  cars? 

7.  Have  you  ever  seen  an  airplane?    Describe  it  and  show  how 
it  works. 


XXXVII.  AT  NIAGARA  FALLS 

WHEN  we  were  high  up  in  the  air  in  our  flying  ma- 
chines we  could  see  bits  of  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  On- 
tario with  the  Niagara  River  flowing  between.  Niagara 
Falls  is  more  than  halfway  down  the  river.  It  is  only 
twenty  miles  from  where  we  are  now,  and  the  electric 
trolley  from  Buffalo  will  take  us  there  in  a  very  short  time. 
The  Niagara  is  a  wonderful  river.  Only  thirty-three 
miles  long  and  less  than  a  mile  wide  during  most  of  its 
course,  it  is  the  downspout  of  all  the  Great  Lakes  excepting 
Ontario.  Its  waters  have  their  source  in  Lake  Superior, 
and  we  have  seen  how  they  pour  out  of  that  great  basin 
into  Lake  Huron,  uniting  there  with  those  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan and  then  sweeping  on  through  the  Detroit  River  into 
Lake  Erie. 


AT  NIAGARA  FALLS  275 

The  Niagara  River  begins  at  the  eastern  end  of  Lake 
Erie  and  flows  for  about  twenty-two  miles  before  it  takes 
its  great  jump  at  the  falls.  Where  the  waters  flow  from 
Lake  Erie  into  the  river  the  stream  is  as  quiet  as  a  mill 
pond,  and  the  fall  is  not  more  than  a  foot  to  the  mile. 
Going  on,  the  waters  soon  divide  and  pass  around  Grand 
Island,  at  the  lower  end  of  which  the  river  is  two  miles 
wide.  After  that  the  channel  narrows  and  the  rapids  be- 
gin. One  sees  them  boiling  as  they  sweep  over  the  rocks. 
They  foam  as  they  dash  about  Goat  Island,  on  the  edge 
of  the  falls,  and  then  take  their  one  hundred  and  sixty 
foot  leap  downward  into  the  great  abyss  below. 

For  the  next  seven  miles  the  river  flows  through  a  gorge 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  and  two  hundred  to  four 
hundred  feet  deep.  In  most  of  its  course  through  this 
narrow  channel  its  flow  is  about  thirty  miles  an  hour,  or 
that  of  an  express  train  on  a  railway.  It  gives  out  a  mighty 
roar  and  its  waters  are  churned  about  into  whirlpools. 
They  continue  to  seethe  and  foam  until  they  pass  Lewiston, 
at  the  end  of  the  gorge,  when  they  abruptly  grow  quiet 
and  flow  peacefully  on  into  Lake  Ontario. 

When  the  falls  first  came  into  existence,  the  water  fell 
over  the  cliff  at  Lewiston,  and  in  the  course  of  thousands 
of  years  the  falls  have  worn  their  way  upstream  seven 
miles  to  their  present  position.  The  whole  gorge  has  been 
chiseled  out  of  the  solid  rock  by  the  river.  The  falls  are 
still  slowly  retreating,  and  in  time  will  reach  Lake  Erie. 

We  hear  the  noise  of  the  falls  long  before  we  reach  them 
and  get  our  first  view  at  Goat  Island.  The  American 
Falls  on  the  right  are  as  high  but  not  so  wide  as  the  Horse- 
shoe Falls  which  in  the  shape  of  a  great  crescent  extend 
to  the  shores  of  Canada  on  our  left. 

What  a  dense  spray  rises  from  the  water!    How  the 


276 


AT  NIAGARA  FALLS  277 

waters  thunder  as  they  dash  over  the  rocks!  They  bubble 
and  seethe  and  foam  in  angry  motion  in  their  bed  far  be- 
low us.  Now  the  sun  comes  out  from  behind  a  cloud.  It 
darts  its  rays  into  the  mist,  and  paints  rainbows  there.  The 
rainbows  change  as  we  look,  and  new  rainbows  appear  as 
the  water  spurts  upward  in  a  diamond  spray. 

We  tarry  awhile  on  the  bridge  above  the  falls,  and  a 
little  later  go  to  the  Cave  of  the  Winds.  This  cave  is  right 
under  the  falls,  and  we  must  have  a  costume  and  a  guide 
before  we  can  undertake  the  journey.  We  can  get  both 
for  a  dollar.  We  put  on  rubber  coats  and  caps,  and  rude 
pantaloons.  Our  feet  are  shod  with  felt  slippers,  in  order 
that  we  may  not  slip,  for  the  descent  is  dangerous.  Our 
guides  take  us  down  a  wooden  staircase  along  the  rocks, 
until  at  last  we  are  right  behind  the  curtain  of  falling  water 
and  as  we  go  into  the  cave  the  noise  almost  deafens  us. 
While  we  stand  there  and  look  out,  the  sun  peeps  in  through 
the  spray,  and  we  have  a  curtain  of  rainbows. 

Another  thrilling  experience  is  our  ride  below  the  falls 
in  the  Maid  of  the  Mist.  This  little  steamboat  has  power- 
ful machinery,  which  carries  it  over  the  boiling  surface  of 
the  waters  from  one  side  of  the  river  to  the  other. 

We  visit  also  the  whirlpool  and  the  rapids  above  it; 
and  then  take  a  walk  over  the  steel  bridge  which  here 
connects  Canada  with  the  United  States.  From  it  we  get 
another  fine  view  of  the  falls. 

This  bridge  crosses  the  raging  Niagara  River.  It  is  an 
arch  of  steel,  one  of  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 
It  carries,  on  top,  two  tracks  for  railroads,  and  below  are 
wagonways,  sidewalks,  and  trolley-car  tracks. 

The  first  suspension  bridge  was  put  across  this  gorge 
more  than  three  quarters  of  a  century  ago,  and  it  is  inter- 
esting to  know  that  boys  aided  in  its  construction.  The 


278  NORTH  AMERICA 

civil  engineer  who  made  the  plans  wished  to  get  a  line 
from  one  bank  to  the  other;  so  he  offered  a  reward  of  five 
dollars  to  any  one  who  could  throw  a  string  across  the 
chasm.  The  next  windy  day,  scores  of  boys  with  kites 
in  their  hands  were  on  the  American  bank,  and  before 
night  a  lucky  youth  had  landed  his  kite  on  the  Canadian 
side. 

To  the  kite  string  a  strong  cord  was  fastened,  and  this 
was  pulled  from  one  side  to  the  other.  Next,  by  means  of 
the  cord,  a  rope  was  drawn  over,  and  a  cable  made  of  wires 
about  as  thick  as  a  man's  thumb  was  tied  to  it.  The  cable 
was  then  fastened,  and  an  iron  basket  with  pulley  attached 
was  hung  on  the  cable,  so  that  the  workmen  in  the  basket 
could  be  drawn  from  one  bank  to  the  other. 

Soon  after  this,  huge  stone  towers  were  built,  heavy 
cables  were  carried  across  from  one  bank  to  the  other, 
and  little  by  little  the  bridge  was  constructed.  The  first 
railroad  suspension  bridge,  built  a  few  years  later,  has 
now  been  replaced  by  the  magnificent  steel  arch  upon 
which  we  cross  to-day. 


XXXVIII.  NIAGARA  IN  HARNESS 

OING  back  to  the  falls,  we  sit  down  above  them 
and  watch  the  mighty  cataract  as  the  electrical  en- 
gineers tell  us  how  it  is  being  harnessed  to  work  for  man. 
The  Niagara  River  is  the  greatest  water  power  known. 
The  water  pours  out  of  Lake  Erie  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand  cubic  feet  every  second  and  it  drops 
down  over  the  falls  at  the  rate  of  millions  of  tons  every 
hour.  The  drop  from  the  foot  of  Lake  Erie  to  the  foot 


NIAGARA  IN  HARNESS  279 

» 

of  the  falls  is  about  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  The 
force  is  so  great  that  some  of  the  engineers  have  estimated 
that  it  might  develop  seven  million  horsepower.  That 
amount  is  equal  to  a  large  part  of  all  the  coal  that  we  take 
out  of  our  mines  and  enough  to  run  thousands  of  factories 
and  light  and  heat  many  cities  and  towns. 

So  far  only  a  small  part  of  this  power  has  been  allowed  to 
be  used,  and  most  of  that  part  belongs  to  the  Canadians. 
The  amount  has  been  fixed  by  a  treaty  between  Canada 
and  the  United  States,  whereby  Canada  is  allowed  to  take 
thirty-six  thousand  cubic  feet  of  the  water  a  second  while 
we  can  use  only  twenty  thousand  cubic  feet  a  second. 

But  how  can  this  be?  It  is  because  the  Great  Lakes  are 
supposed  to  belong  equally  to  both  countries,  so  when  the 
force  at  Niagara  came  to  be  divided,  Canada  insisted 
that  to  her  share  of  one  half  should  be  added  an  amount 
equal  to  what  the  United  States  is  taking  out  of  Lake 
Michigan  in  the  canal  we  have  made  to  join  that  lake 
with  the  Illinois  River,  which  flows  into  the  Mississippi 
River  and  on  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Even  at  this  we  are 
using  less  than  our  share,  as  we  do  not  wish  to  take  away 
from  the  beauty  of  the  falls  by  lessening  the  volume  of 
water  that  passes  over  them,  our  total  consumption  being 
only  about  sixteen  thousand  cubic  feet  per  second. 

As  our  country  grows  and  we  need  more  light,  fuel,  and 
power,  this  question  as  to  the  use  of  the  falls  will  become 
more  and  more  important.  The  total  power  now  going  to 
waste  every  year  equals  many  million  tons  of  coal.  The 
black  coal  once  burned  cannot  be  replaced,  but  this  white 
coal,  as  water  power  has  been  named,  comes  on  just  the 
same  year  after  year.  Therefore,  some  think  we  ought 
to  get  more  power  from  Niagara,  and  save  our  coal  for  the 
future. 


280 


NIAGARA  IN  HARNESS  281 

And  now  let  us  see  what  Niagara  in  harness  is  doing. 
The  amount  so  far  employed  by  both  countries  is  less  than 
a  half  million  horsepower,  but  this  serves  to  run  many 
great  factories  at  Niagara  and  to  light  and  give  power  to 
cities  and  towns  many  miles  from  the  falls.  By  means  of 
the  cheap  electricity  so  generated,  one  factory  at  Niagara 
makes  a  grinding  material  called  carborundum,  which 
takes  the  place  of  grindstones,  emery,  and  diamond  dust. 
•The  material  might  be  called  artificial  diamonds,  for  it  is 
composed  of  countless  little  crystals,  so  hard  and  so  sharp 
that  they  can  grind  almost  any  material.  They  are  used 
to  grind  the  hardest  of  steel,  and  are  so  important  that  it 
is  said  we  could  not  make  automobiles,  airplanes,  and 
many  of  our  steel  tools  without  them.  This  product  is 
made  of  sand  and  coke  melted  together  by  electric  heat. 

Artificial  graphite,  used  in  smelting  and  refining  and 
as  a  lubricant,  is  another  important  substance  made  at 
Niagara,  as  is  also  the  carbide  which  gives  us  acetylene. 
Many  of  us  have  seen  acetylene  gas  lights,  and  some  may 
have  seen  the  acetylene  flame  made  of  the  gas  combined 
with  oxygen.  It  is  so  hot  it  will  melt  the  hardest  of  steel 
almost  as  soon  as  it  touches  it. 

The  very  light  and  strong  metal,  aluminum,  used  in 
cooking  utensils  and  in  building  airplanes,  is  extracted 
from  the  ore  by  the  electricity  generated  at  Niagara. 
Chlorine  for  bleaching  paper  and  clothes  is  also  made,  as 
well  as  chemicals  and  drugs,  and  many  alloys  or  combina- 
tions of  iron  and  other  metals,  all  requiring  high  electric 
heat  which  is  cheaply  created  by  the  power  at  the  falls. 

Leaving  the  falls,  we  walk  up  the  river  to  look  at  the 
power  plants  in  which  the  water  is  harnessed.  They  re- 
mind us  of  the  works  we  saw  on  the  Mississippi  at  the 
Keokuk  Dam.  The  water  is  taken  from  the  Niagara 


282  NORTH  AMERICA 

River  in  canals  and  dropped  down  through  penstocks  or 
immense  steel  tubes  upon  turbine  wheels  in  such  a  way 
that  it  drives  them  around,  and  they  move  the  dynamo 
overhead.  Each  penstock  is  as  tall  as  a  building  of  six- 
teen stories,  and  its  diameter  is  such  that  if  it  could  be 
laid  on  the  ground  a  horse  could  trot  through  it  without 
dropping  his  ears.  The  dynamos  look  like  giant  mush- 
rooms of  black  steel  and  they  are  turning  so  fast  we  cannot 
see  them  move.  Their  speed  is  almost  two  miles  a  minute, 
so  fast  that  each  is  generating  an  electric  force  of  five 
thousand  horsepower.  It  makes  us  think  of  five  thou- 
sand horses  galloping  at  a  speed  faster  than  has  ever  been 
made  on  any  race  track. 

Much  of  the  power  generated  here  is  taken  by  the  City 
of  Buffalo  to  run  its  electric  railways  and  for  other  pur- 
poses. Some  is  used  by  the  New  York  State  Barge  Canal. 
The  electricity  is  carried  by  thick  cables  to  the  places 
where  it  is  used. 

Great  factories  have  sprung  up  also  on  the  Canadian 
side  of  the  river,  manufacturing  products  similar  to  those 
we  have  just  seen.  The  hydroelectric  works  there  can 
create  almost  a  half  million  horsepower. 

1.  Locate  the  Niagara  River.     How  long  is  it?     Where  do  its 
waters  come  from? 

2.  Make  an  imaginary  trip  to  the  falls  and  describe  what  you  see. 

3.  What  part  had  a  boy's  kite  in  building  the  first  bridge  at  Niagara? 

4.  Give  some  idea  of  the  power  of  the  falls.    What  part  of  the 
force  now  used  belongs  to  Canada?    Why  has  Canada  the  right  to 
more  than  the  United  States  has?    What  is  a  treaty  and  why  do 
governments  make  treaties? 

5.  Visit  one  of  the  power  plants  and  show  how  the  waters  are 
harnessed. 

6.  Name  some  of  the  products  made  at  Niagara  and  mention  some 
of  the  uses  of  each.    Why  are  they  made  at  the  falls? 


IN  THE  COAL  REGIONS  283 

XXXIX.  IN  THE  COAL  REGIONS 

ArTER  returning  to  Buffalo  we  have  come  by  train 
to  Scranton,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  basin  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna  River.  The  ride  takes  all  day,  and  when  we 
leave  the  cars  we  are  in  the  heart  of  the  anthracite  region. 

Coal  is  of  several  varieties.  Bituminous  or  soft  coal  is 
black  and  easily  broken,  and  when  burned  it  gives  off  a 
dense  smoke  and  leaves  ,a  great  deal  of  ash.  It  is  the 
coal  from  which  we  get  most  of  our  steam,  and  which 
we  use  for  manufacturing,  smelting,  and  the  making  of 
coke.  Anthracite  is  a  hard  coal  of  a  high  grade,  which 
is  used  more  for  heating.  It  makes  a  very  hot  fire;  it 
burns  almost  without  smoke  and  with  a  moderate  amount 
of  ash.  It  is  found  in  large  quantities  in  northeastern 
Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  province  of  Shansi  in  China. 
Smaller  quantities  exist  in  England,  France,  and  Bel- 
gium. Bituminous  coal  is  among  the  mineral  resources  of 
every  continent,  and  of  many  countries.  Anthracite  is 
comparatively  rare. 

But  first  let  us  learn  a  bit  more  about  this  dirty  black 
stuff  upon  which  we  rely  so  much  for  our  heat,  light,  and 
power.  Take  up  a  chunk  of  coal  and  ask  it  to  tell  you  its 
story.  It  replies  that  its  life  began  ages  ago,  and  that  it 
first  lived  as  trees,  mosses,  and  other  vegetable  growth. 
It  tells  how  it  was  covered  with  sediment  and  put  under 
such  pressure  that  it  finally  hardened  and  became  coal. 
It  tells  us  that  coal  is  good  according  to  the  amount  of 
carbon  in  it,  and  that  anthracite  has  the  most  carbon  of 
all.  Bituminous  has  less,  and  lignite,  a  low-grade  brown 
coal,  has  so  little  that  it  is  seldom  profitable  to  use  it  for 
heating  or  the  making  of  steam. 

There  are  many  interesting  stories  of  how  men  first 


284 


IN  THE  COAL  REGIONS  285 

found  that  coal  would  burn.  One  comes  from  Belgium, 
the  little  country  which  had  such  an  important  part  in 
the  World  War.  It  tells  of  a  blacksmith  who  was  smelt- 
ing iron  with  charcoal,  as  was  the  custom  in  those  days 
long  ago.  The  blacksmith  was  poor,  and  he  had  to  burn 
wood  to  make  his  own  charcoal.  This  took  so  much  time 
that  he  was  not  able  to  earn  enough  to  support  his  family. 
He  was  about  to  kill  himself  in  despair,  when  a  white- 
bearded  old  man  came  into  his  shop  and  told  him  to  dig 
the  black  earth  out  of  the  mountains  near  by  and  burn  it. 
He  did  so,  and  was  able  to  make  a  horseshoe  at  one  forging. 

Another  story  relates  to  the  discovery  of  anthracite. 
This  tells  of  a  hunter  named  Allen,  who  in  pioneer  days 
was  camping  one  night  in  the  region  where  we  are  now. 
He  built  a  wood  fire  on  some  black  stones,  and  roasted 
a  part  of  the  deer  he  had  killed.  He  then  lay  down  by 
the  fire,  and  dropped  off  to  sleep.  He  woke  to  find  himself 
almost  burning  up.  The  stones  were  red  hot  and  they 
gave  forth  a  light  blue  flame.  Pennsylvania  anthracite 
was  burning  for  the  first  time. 

Shortly  after  that  a  company  was  formed  to  sell  the 
new  coal  in  Philadelphia.  But  the  people  there  had  been 
used  to  soft  coal,  and  did  not  know  how  to  light  the  an- 
thracite. They  could  not  make  it  burn,  and  thinking 
they  had  been  cheated,  got  out  a  writ  from  the  city  au- 
thorities denouncing  the  sellers  of  anthracite  as  knaves 
who  were  trying  to  impose  rocks  upon  the  people  for  coal. 

The  first  bituminous  coal  found  in  America  was  discovered 
near  Ottawa,  Illinois,  in  1679.  Later,  coal  was  discovered 
near  Richmond,  Virginia,  by  a  boy  wading  in  a  small  creek, 
when  he  stumbled  on  the  outcroppings  of  the  James  River 
coal  beds.  The  first  coal  mines  of  the  United  States  were 
worked  there. 


286 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Since  then  coal  has  been  found  in  greater  or  less  quanti- 
ties in  almost  every  state  of  the  Union.  It  is  mined  for 
sale  in  large  quantities  in  twenty-five  states,  and  in  far-off 
Alaska;  and  we  are  told  we  have  in  our  territory  about 

half  of  all  the  coal 
world.     Just 
the     World 
congress    of 


of  the 
before 
War  a 

expert  geologists 
from  many  countries 
met  in  Toronto, 
Canada,  and  figured 
out  the  coal  beds  of 
Coal  regions.  each  continent. 

They  estimated  that  the  total  amount  is  more  than  eight 
thousand  billions  of  tons,  of  which,  in  round  numbers, 
North  America  has  about  three  fourths.  According  to 
their  estimates  our  own  coal  reserves  are  over  four 
thousand  billions  of  tons,  which  is  more  than  three  times 
as  much  coal  as  that  of  all  Asia  and  five  times  as  much 
as  that  of  the  whole  continent  of  Europe.  Australia 
and  Africa  put  together  have  less  than  one  fifteenth  as 
much  as  the  coal  reserves  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
only  countries  which  have  anything  like  our  vast  beds  of 
coal  are  Canada  and  China.  Canada  has  about  one  third 
as  much  as  we  have  and  China  less  than  one  fourth.  In- 
asmuch as  the  wealth  and  power  of  a  country  and  its 
growth  in  manufacture  and  commerce  depend  largely 
upon  its  coal,  it  will  be  seen  that  we  have  a  better  chance 
to  succeed  than  any  other  nation. 

Four  thousand  billion  tons!  Our  minds  reel  as  we  try 
to  comprehend  what  it  means.  According  to  the  estimates 
of  Dr.  Marius  Campbell,  an  expert  of  our  Geological 


WE  VISIT  A  COAL  MINE  287 

Survey,  the  amount  is  so  great  that  if  our  workable  coal 
could  be  dragged  out  of  the  earth  and  put  in  one  solid  pile 
it  would  form  a  block  more  than  eighteen  miles  long, 
eighteen  miles  wide,  and  eighteen  miles  high.  Such  a  block 
would  make  a  wall  of  solid  coal  a  half  mile  in  height,  a 
mile  wide,  and  long  enough  to  extend  clear  around  the 
United  States  and  still  leave  enough  to  reach  from  New 
York  to  Chicago.  Of  this  vast  amount  we  have  already 
mined  not  as  much  as  one  per  cent,  so  that  we  have  enough 
left  to  last  us  for  hundreds  of  years. 


XL.  WE  VISIT  A  COAL  MINE 

DURING  our  stay  in  Scranton  we  visit  an  anthra- 
cite mine.  It  is  more  than  one  thousand  feet  deep, 
and  so  many  tunnels  have  been  cut  out  of  the  coal  that 
we  can  ride  back  and  forth  on  the  electric  railroads  within 
it  for  a  distance  of  eighty-five  miles.  The  mine  is  lighted 
by  electricity,  and  enormous  electric  fans  run  by  steam 
engines  drive  fresh  air  through  its  tunnels.  We  each  have 
an  acetylene  hand  lamp,  as  well  as  a  little  lamp  filled  with 
oil,  such  as  the  miners  wear  on  their  caps.  We  may  go 
into  some  of  the  dark  rooms  of  the  mine,  and  must  be 
provided  against  any  failure  of  the  current  of  electricity. 
Leaving  the  shaft  at  the  bottom,  we  find  ourselves  in 
a  city  of  coal.  The  tunnels  are  the  streets  and  the  cham- 
bers or  rooms  on  each  side,  out  of  which  the  miners  are 
taking  the  anthracite,  are  the  houses.  In  them  we  see 
the  miners  boring  into  the  black  walls  with  drills  worked 
by  compressed  air.  After  a  hole  is  drilled  they  put  in  a 
blast,  and  later  a  series  of  explosions  brings  the  great  walls 


288 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Miners  about  to  ascend  to  surface  in  shaft  cage.    Each  man  wears 
a  lighted  lamp  on  his  cap. 

of  coal  to  the  floor.    It  is  then  put  on  the  cars  and  carried 
to  the  shaft,  up  which  it  goes  to  the  breakers. 

As  the  anthracite  comes  from  the  mine  it  is  mixed 
with  quantities  of  stone,  slate,  and  dust.  It  must  be 
broken  up  and  picked  over  before  it  is  ready  for  sale.  The 
breaking  is  done  in  a  huge  building  almost  as  big  as  the 
grain  elevators  we  saw  at  Minneapolis.  The  loaded  cars 
run  from  the  shaft  into  the  building,  and  mechanically 
at  the  top  of  the  breaker  the  coal  is  dumped  upon  moving 
bars,  which  throw  out  much  of  the  slate  and  other  refuse, 
and  sort  the  coal  into  sizes.  As  the  coal  goes  on  it  passes 
through  crusher  after  crusher,  and  through  machinery 


WE  VISIT  A  COAL  MINE 


289 


A  coal  breaker.    The  coal  is  carried  to  the  top  of  the  building,  and 
is  crushed  and  sorted  as  it  moves  downward. 

which  removes  more  and  more  of  the  slate.  In  some  cases 
it  is  run  through  water,  and  it  is  also  picked  over  by  boys. 

Coal  is  sold  in  eight  different  sizes,  ranging  from  that 
of  a  grain  of  barley  to  great  lumps.  The  larger  coals,  such 
as  broken,  egg,  stove,  and  chestnut,  are  used  mostly  for 
heating,  while  the  pea,  buckwheat,  rice,  and  barley  coals 
are  used  more  for  the  making  of  steam. 

Leaving  the  anthracite  region,  we  motor  through  the 
Appalachian  Mountains  westward  towards  Pittsburgh, 
passing  many  bituminous  coal  fields  on  the  way. 

Most  of  the  good  coal  of  our  country  is  bituminous. 
The  Appalachian  coal  bed  extends  from  northern  Penn- 
sylvania down  through  these  mountains  into  Alabama. 
It  is  eighty  or  ninety  miles  wide,  and  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  richest  of  all  coal  deposits.  We  have  another  enor- 

CARP.    N.   AMER. — 18 


290 


NORTH  AMERICA 


mous  bed  of  soft  coal  in  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Kentucky, 
and  others  in  the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the  Miss- 
issippi basin  west  of  that  river.  There  are  quantities  of 
bituminous  coal  in  Ohio,  North  Dakota,  Wyoming,  and 

Colorado,  and  in  Wash- 
ington, Montana,  and 
Utah.  Immense  beds  of 
soft  coal  are  found  in 
Alaska. 

The  coal  mine  we  shall 
visit  is  not  far  from  Pitts- 
burgh, from  which  city 
a  great  deal  of  coal  is 
shipped,  both  by  rail 
and  by  river,  to  many 
parts  of  our  country. 
Leaving  Pittsburgh  by 
boat,  we  ride  up  the 
Monongahe'la  River,  see- 
ing the  black  beds  of 
coal  standing  out  be- 
tween the  rocks  on  the 
banks.  Here  and  there 
are  dark  blotches  show- 
These  breaker  boys  pick  pieces  of  jng  m  the  gfeen  walls 
slate  out  of  the  coal  (page  289).  of  the  hiUs  Each  blotch 

is  the  mouth  of  a  coal  mine,  and  the  little  village  below 
it,  with  its  dirty  black  houses  along  the  narrow  streets, 
is  the  home  of  the  miners. 

See  those  cars,  drawn  by  mules,  coming  out  of 
that  hill!  Watch  them  as  they  run  down  the  inclined 
railroads  and  discharge  the  coal  into  the  barges  below. 
For  half  a  century  the  miners  have  been  taking  coal 


WE  VISIT  A  COAL  MINE  291 

out  of  these  mines,  and  the  beds  are  by  no  means  ex- 
hausted. 

Leaving  our  boat,  we  enter  one  of  the  mines  and  pass 
through  tunnel  after  tunnel,  our  way  being  lighted  by  the 
lamps  on  our  caps  and  those  on  the  caps  of  the  miners. 
Some  of  the  men  are  covered  with  dust.  They  look  like 
black  ghosts  in  the  dim  light. 

Notice  how  the  tunnels  are  propped  with  timbers,  and 
how  the  water  drips  down  as  we  pass  through  them.  Here 
and  there  are  huge  pumps  run  by  steam  to  take  the  water 
out  of  the  mines.  In  wet  mines  like  this  there  is  often  so 
much  water  that  if  the  pumps  should  stop  the  mines  would 
become  flooded  and  the  miners  would  drown. 

Look  behind  you  and  jump  to  the  wall!  Here  is  a  car 
coming.  It  is  hauled  by  a  mule  which  goes  on  the  trot. 
In  many  other  mines  the  cars  are  moved  by  electricity 
and  the  tunnels  are  lighted  by  long  lines  of  electric  lights. 
Beside  the  tunnels  there  are  many  rooms  or  chambers 
much  like  those  we  saw  in  the  anthracite  mines.  The 
methods  of  mining  also  are  much  the  same,  although  there 
are  no  great  coal  breakers  such  as  we  saw  at  Scranton. 

According  to  the  laws  passed  by  our  government  great 
care  must  be  taken  in  mining.  There  are  laws  about 
ventilating  and  draining  the  mines,  and  for  preventing 
the  explosions  of  fire  damp,  other  gases,  and  dust,  which 
with  a  clap  like  thunder,  sometimes  send  a  whirlwind 
of  flame  through  the  tunnels,  pulling  down  the  timbers 
and  caving  in  the  walls.  At  such  times  the  miners  are 
blinded,  scorched,  and  perhaps  burned  to  cinders,  hundreds 
being  killed  at  one  time.  Some  of  the  dangerous  gases 
have  no  smell  and  to  detect  them  canary  birds  are  sometimes 
carried  into  the  mines.  When  the  birds  begin  to  droop 
or  look  sick  the  miners  know  the  air  is  not  right. 


292  NORTH  AMERICA 

XLI.    PITTSBURGH  — A    GREAT   WORKSHOP   OF 
IRON  AND  STEEL  —  HOW  COKE  IS  MADE 

WE  are  in  Pittsburgh  this  morning,  in  one  of  the 
richest  coal  fields  of  the  world.  Situated  in  western 
Pennsylvania,  where  the  Monongahela  and  Allegheny  (al'e- 
ga-nf)  rivers  flow  together  to  form  the  Ohio,  and  within  a 
short  distance  by  railway  of  the  ports  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
Pittsburgh  has  great  advantages  for  the  making  of  iron 
and  steel  and  for  exporting  its  coal  and  other  products  to 
all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  the  world.  The  city 
has  three  navigable  rivers  and  nine  trunk  lines  of  railway, 
and  the  cheap  transportation  of  the  Great  Lakes  brings 
the  rich  iron  ore  of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  and  Michigan 
almost  to  its  doors.  There  is  limestone  near  by,  and  so 
Pittsburgh  can  easily  get  everything  needed  for  the  smelt- 
ing and  making  of  iron  and  steel. 

There  are  three  hundred  and  fifty  bituminous  coal  mines 
within  a  few  miles  of  Pittsburgh  and  when  all  are  working 
they  produce  annually  more  than  one  hundred  million  tons 
of  this  fuel.  The  coal  goes  out  on  the  railroads  in  tens  of 
thousands  of  tons  every  day.  It  is  carried  down  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  in  long  fleets  of  barges.  It  travels  up  the 
Great  Lakes  in  enormous  steamers;  and  it  is  used  by  the 
millions  of  tons  in  and  around  Pittsburgh  for  the  manu- 
facture of  all  sorts  of  things  made  of  iron  and  steel. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  Pittsburgh  is  making  more  than 
one  fourth  of  all  the  pig  iron  of  the  United  States,  and  it 
has  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  men  employed  in 
its  steel  mills.  Over  forty-five  thousand  miners  are  em- 
ployed in  the  coal  district,  and  more  than  half  of  all 
the  coke  produced  in  the  United  States  comes  from 
here. 


HOW  COKE  IS  MADE  293 

This  matter  of  coke  is  important.  Coke  is  the  form  in 
which  coal  is  most  commonly  used  for  the  smelting  of 
iron.  It  is  bituminous  coal  with  all  the  volatile  gases  and 
other  impurities  roasted  out  of  it,  so  that  what  is  left 
consists  chiefly  of  carbon,  or  the  heat-producing  element 
in  the  hot  fire  needed  for  smelting.  We  can  see  how  this 
is  done  by  going  to  Connellsville,  a  short  motor-car  ride 
from  Pittsburgh.  The  coal  there  yields  about  sixty-two 
per  cent  coke  when  roasted  in  what  is  known  as  the  bee- 
hive coke  oven;  the  remainder  goes  out  in  gases  and  drifts 
away  in  the  air. 

In  this  process  the  coal  is  dumped  into  openings  in  the 
tops  of  the  ovens.  When  an  oven  is  full  the  door  is  sealed 
up,  except  for  an  inch  at  the  top,  and  the  coal  is  then  lighted. 
It  soon  becomes  red  hot,  and  the  heat  is  intense.  The 
ovens  are  so  made  that  very  little  air  can  reach  the  coal, 
and  it  burns  in  such  a  way  that  the  gases  in  it  are  all  driven 
out,  leaving  chunks  of  a  light,  hard,  porous  or  spongelike 
material,  which  burns  easily  and  with  a  great  heat.  This 
is  coke.  The  coke  is  cooled  by  letting  cold  water  into  the 
top  of  the  oven,  after  which  it  is  ready  to  be  loaded  upon 
cars  for  the  furnaces. 

This  is  the  old  method  of  making  coke.  It  is  very  waste- 
ful, for  the  twenty-eight  per  cent  of  the  coal  that  goes  off 
in  the  shape  of  gases  contains  some  of  the  most  valuable 
materials  needed  by  man.  In  the  first  place,  the  gases 
themselves  can  be  used  for  heating  and  lighting;  and  treated 
in  a  certain  way  they  yield  benzol,  which  is  much  like 
gasoline;  toluol,  which  is  valuable  for  explosives;  and 
ammonium  sulphate,  one  of  our  most  valuable  fertilizers. 
Some  of  our  important  drugs,  dyestuffs,  and  other  chem- 
icals are  made  from  these  gases,  which,  until  a  few  years 
ago,  all  went  to  waste. 


294 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Now  we  have  what  are  called  by-product  coke  ovens, 
which  save  seventy-five  per  cent  instead  of  sixty-two 
per  cent  of  the  coal  and  at  the  same  time  turn  the  re- 
mainder into  gas,  ammonia,  benzol,  and  tar.  The  new 
ovens  are  like  huge  steel  drawers  placed  on  their  sides 


Inside  a  by-product  plant.    Benzol  is  made  here  from  coke  gases. 

close  together.  The  gases  are  carried  off  into  tanks  and 
made  into  benzol  and  other  things,  and  the  red-hot  coke 
is  then  put  into  cars  in  which  it  is  flooded  with  water, 
making  a  volume  of  steam  which  reminds  one  of  a  volcano 
in  an  eruption. 

During  our  stay  in  Pittsburgh  we  follow  the  processes 
of  making  the  iron  ore  into  pig  iron,  in  which  form  it  can 


MAKING  IRON  AND  STEEL  295 

be  kept  and  afterwards  used  for  steel  making.  In  making 
pig  iron  the  ore  is  put  into  the  blast  furnace  in  layers 
sandwiched  between  layers  of  limestone  and  coke.  Then 
a  hot  blast  is  introduced  from  below,  which  turns  the  con- 
tents of  the  furnace  into  a  boiling,  bubbling  mass  of  liquid 
fire.  The  blast  has  been  first  heated  in  what  are  known 
as  the  stoves  —  huge  towers  which  will  withstand  a  tem- 
perature of  1000  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  air  is  heated 
to  this  temperature  and  then  is  blown  into  the  furnace  at 
a  pressure  of  twenty  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  During 
the  boiling,  the  impurities  in  the  iron  ore  unite  with  the 
melted  limestone,  forming  a  slag  which  floats  on  the  top 
as  foam  floats  upon  water.  The  melted  iron,  which  is 
heavier,  sinks  to  the  bottom.  The  furnace  men  can  tell 
just  where  the  slag  ends  and  the  iron  begins.  They  make 
a  hole  at  that  point  in  the  side  of  the  furnace,  out  of  which 
the  slag  runs,  leaving  the  iron. 

After  all  the  slag  has  been  taken  away,  a  hole  is  made  in 
the  side  of  the  furnace  at  the  bottom  of  the  mass  of  molten 
iron,  which  flows  out  in  a  golden  stream,  and  is  conducted 
into  a  bed  of  sand  which  looks  for  all  the  world  like  a 
garden  ready  for  planting.  It  is  covered  with  little  hollows 
or  molds.  Each  hollow  is  about  the  size  of  a  stick  of  stove 
wood.  The  yellow  stream  flows  into  the  molds  and  soon 
the  garden  is  a  flaming  surface  of  bright  yellow.  As  the 
iron  cools  it  darkens  and  finally  changes  to  gray.  Each 
hollow  contains  what  is  known  as  an  iron  pig.  The  pigs 
are  soon  cold  enough  to  be  dragged  out  of  the  sand,  and 
are  then  piled  into  stacks  ready  for  shipment,  or  for  use  in 
the  mills  near  by  for  all  kinds  of  manufactures  of  iron  and 
steel. 

We  shall  now  see  how  pig  iron  is  turned  into  steel.  The 
molten  iron  may  be  taken  as  it  flows  from  the  furnace 


296 


MAKING  IRON  AND  STEEL  297 

without  turning  it  into  pigs,  or  the  cold  pigs  may  be  put 
into  another  furnace  and  melted  again.  The  molten  pig 
iron  is  drawn  out  from  the  furnace  into  huge  ladles,  each 
holding  twenty  tons.  The  ladles  are  upon  car  wheels,  and 
they  are  carried  by  a  locomotive  on  a  railway  to  a  great 
brick-lined  oven  of  steel,  which  will  hold  the  contents 
of  about  thirty  ladles.  This  oven  is  known  as  a  mixer, 
and  its  purpose  is  to  mix  the  pig  iron  thoroughly  with 
some  other  metals  which  are  put  in  to  improve  the  steel. 
The  ladles  are  lifted  by  steam  cranes,  and  their  boiling, 
bubbling  contents  poured  into  the  mixer. 

After  this  the  iron  goes  to  the  Bessemer  converter,  where 
more  of  the  impurities  are  taken  out,  and  the  molten  mix- 
ture made  into  steel.  The  Bessemer  converter  is  an  egg- 
shaped  steel  barrel,  so  large  that  it  might  serve  as  a  bath 
tub  for  an  elephant.  It  is  lined  with  material  that  will 
withstand  great  heat,  and  is  hung  on  pivots  in  such  a  way 
that  it  may  be  turned  back  and  forth  or  tilted  at  various 
angles.  The  barrel  is  so  made  that  an  air  blast  can  be 
forced  in  at  a  pressure  of  thirty  pounds  to  the  inch.  As 
the  air  roars  through  the  molten  mass  it  takes  out  the  im- 
purities and  turns  them  into  gases  which  burst  forth  from 
the  top  of  the  converter  in  millions  of  sparks,  forming 
giant  sky  rockets,  which  grow  and  grow  until  the  sparks 
join  together  in  flames.  As  the  blast  continues,  the  flames 
rise  higher  and  higher,  reaching  up  and  licking  the  steel 
roof  far  overhead.  The  torch  of  flaming  gases  is  now  ten 
feet  or  more  in  diameter.  It  makes  us  think  of  a  volcano 
of  living  fire.  The  heat  is  about  three  thousand  degrees 
Fahrenheit.  It  is  so  great  that  at  the  end  of  twelve  minutes 
the  impurities  have  been  reduced  to  gases  and  blown  out, 
and  the  liquid  iron  has  become  liquid  steel. 

After  this  the  steel  is  poured  by  machinery  into  molds, 


2Q8 


MAKING  IRON  AND  STEEL  299 

forming  ingots.  Each  ingot  is  a  great  block  of  steel  about 
a  foot  square  and  four  or  more  feet  in  height.  It  is  the  raw 
steel  of  commerce,  and  is  run  through  rolling  mills  and 
other  machines  to  turn  it  into  the  bars,  plates,  and  thou- 
sands of  steel  products  used  in  our  industries. 

A  large  part  of  the  steel  of  commerce  goes  into  the 
making  of  steel  rails.  In  this  process  the  ingots,  which 
have  been  cut  into  pieces,  or  blooms,  and  again  heated 
white  hot,  are  passed  back  and  forth  between  steel  rollers, 
Which  press  and  mold  the  metal  as  though  it  were  putty. 
As  the  bloom  enters  the  rolls,  it  is  a  great  thick  block  of 
hot  steel,  and  when  it  leaves  them  it  is  a  steel  rail  ready 
to  be  laid  on  the  track.  All  this  work  is  done  by  massive 
machinery  with  little  man  power.  We  get  some  idea  of 
the  capacity  of  one  of  the  mills  when  its  foreman  tells  us 
that  the  steel  rails  it  makes  in  one  day  would  be  sufficient 
to  lay  ten  miles  of  track,  and  that  within  one  year  it  would 
furnish  enough  for  a  railway  reaching  from  the  end  of 
Cape  Cod  on  the  Atlantic  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  continent. 

In  the  past  the  slag  of  the  furnaces  all  went  to  waste.  It 
is  now  used  to  make  cement  and  fertilizers.  As  the  slag 
cools,  after  it  comes  from  the  furnaces,  it  is  as  hard  as 
stone.  It  must  be  reduced  to  a  powder  before  it  can  be 
used.  This  is  done  by  means  of  a  huge  ball  of  steel  as  tall 
as  a  man  and  weighing  fifteen  tons.  How  do  you  think 
the  great  mass  can  be  raised  high  into  the  air  and  dropped 
upon  the  slag  to  crush  it  to  powder?  The  raising  is  done 
by  a  crane,  with  the  aid  of  an  electric  magnet,  after  the 
same  principle  as  that  of  the  horseshoe  magnet  with  which 
one  lifts  tacks.  The  electric  magnet  is  so  powerful  that 
as  it  touches  the  top  of  the  steel  ball  it  becomes  almost  a 
part  of  the  metal,  and  when  it  is  drawn  up  by  the  chains 


300 


NORTH  AMERICA 


attached  to  the  great  crane  above,  the  ball  rises.  When 
the  ball  has  reached  the  right  height,  the  man  in  the  crane 
moves  a  lever  which  shuts  off  the  electricity,  and  the  huge 
mass  of  steel  drops  with  a  crash  on  the  slag.  Similar 
magnets  are  used  in  lifting  steel  rails  and  moving  them 
about.  Two  of  them  moved  by  a  traveling  crane  overhead 
will  lift  up  fifteen  rails  at  one  time  and  lay  them  down  on 
the  cars. 

We  shall  learn  more  about  steel  as  we  travel  in  other 
parts  of  the  United  States.  The  chief  centers  of  the  steel 
industry,  besides  Pittsburgh  and  Birmingham,  are  Chicago, 
Cleveland,  Toledo,  Detroit,  and  other  cities  on  the  Great 
Lakes,  where  the  iron  ore  from  Lake  Superior  can  be  easily 
brought. 

We  spend  some  time  at  Pittsburgh  seeing  its  many 
industries  of  one  kind  or  another.  We  go  from  the  various 
steel  mills,  in  which  one  hundred  thousand  men  are  em- 


Barge  loads  of  pipe  from  a  Pittsburgh  factory  starting  down  the 
Ohio  River  on  their  long  journey  to  New  Orleans. 


PITTSBURGH  301 

i 

ployed,  to  the  factories  making  tinplate,  which  are  also 
enormous.  We  spend  some  time  in  the  glass  works,  where 
men  are  blowing  window  glass  by  machinery,  and  wander 
through  a  great  electrical  manufacturing  plant  that  has  a 
floor  space  of  one  hundred  acres. 

Pittsburgh  has  the  largest  cork  mill  of  the  world.  The 
cork  comes  from  the  bark  of  an  oak  tree  in  Portugal.  The 
bottle  stoppers  made  here  go  out  to  all  parts  of  the  world, 
and  we  may  use  one  of  these  very  corks  when  out  fishing 
some  day. 

Pittsburgh  makes  locomotives  and  steel  cars  for  our 
railways;  it  makes  structural  steel  for  our  large  office 
buildings,  and  steel  for  bridges,  some  of  which  is  exported 
to  Asia  and  Africa.  It  leads  all  other  cities  in  the  manu- 
facture of  aluminum,  a  soft,  light,  white  metal  made  from 
some  kinds  of  clay,  and  of  vanadium,  a  metal  found  in 
the  high  Andes,  and  valuable  in  steel  making.  The  city 
is  indeed  a  beehive  of  industries  and  the  country  for  miles 
about  teems  with  factories. 

1.  Where  does  coal  come  from?    Mention  the  two  most  important 
varieties  and  some  of  the  things  for  which  they  are  used. 

2.  Bring  a  lump  of  coal  to  class  and  let  it  tell  its  life  story.    How 
did  a  boy  discover  the  Virginia  coal  mines? 

3.  Point  out  on  a  map  of  the  United  States  the  location  of  our 
coal  regions.    Compare  them  with  the  coal  beds  of  the  world.    Of 
the  continents.     Of  other  coal  countries. 

4.  Where  is  our  principal  anthracite  coal  region?    Where  do  we 
find  bituminous  coal? 

5.  Visit  a  mine  and  tell  what  you  see. 

6.  Ship  a  cargo  of  coal  by  water  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  Orleans, 
describing  the  route.    From  Pittsburgh  by  rail  and  water  via  Cleve- 
land and  Duluth  to  St.  Paul. 

7.  Locate  Pittsburgh,  and  show  why  it  is  a  great  iron  and  steel 
manufacturing   center. 

8.  What  is  coke  and  how  is  it  made,  by  the  old  method?    By 


302  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  new  method?  What  advantages  have  the  new  method  over  the 
old?  Mention  some  of  the  by-products  saved  by  the  new  method 
of  making  coke. 

9.  How  is  pig  iron  made? 

10.  Take  a  trip  through  a  steel  plant  and  tell  what  you  see.    Find 
out  all  you  can  about  our  iron  and  steel  industry.     (See  Carpenter's 
"How  the  World  is  Housed,"  pages  142-163.) 

11.  Find  out  all  you  can  about  glass  and  how  it  is  made.     (See 
Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Housed,"  pages  188-204.) 

12.  Where  does  our  cork  come  from?    (See  Carpenter's  "Europe," 
page  485.)     Trace  a  shipment  of  cork  from  there  to  Pittsburgh, 
coming  from  New  York  by  rail.    About  how  far  does  it  travel? 


XLII.  AKRON  AND   THE   RUBBER   INDUSTRY- 
CINCINNATI,  LOUISVILLE,  AND  INDIANAPOLIS 

WE  might  take  a  steamer  at  Pittsburgh  and  go  with 
the  coal  barges  down  the  Ohio  River  to  Cincinnati. 
The  country  is  more  hilly  than  along  the  lower  Mississippi, 
the  farms  are  smaller,  and  there  are  manufacturing  towns 
near  the  river  fed  by  the  coal,  oil,  and  gas  fields  of  Penn- 
sylvania, West  Virginia,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky.  At  East 
Liverpool,  Ohio,  beautiful  china  and  pottery  are  made 
from  the  white  clay  near  by,  and  Wheeling  and  Bellaire 
(bel-ar')  manufacture  glassware,  including  millions  of  bot- 
tles of  all  sizes  and  shapes.  Further  downstream  is  Point 
Pleasant,  where  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant  was  born,  and 
still  farther  on  is  Georgetown,  where  he  worked  on  his 
father's  farm. 

We  should  find  the  trip  interesting,  but  there  are  other 
things  more  important,  and  we  decide  to  motor  about 
through  northern  Ohio  and  go  to  Cincinnati  by  rail.  Leav- 
ing Pittsburgh,  a  ride  of  three  hours  takes  us  to  Youngs- 


AKRON  AND  THE  RUBBER  INDUSTRY  303 

town,  another  steel-making  city  in  the  Ohio  coal  region, 
and  an  hour  more  lands  us  in  Akron. 

We  are  now  in  what  might  be  called  Rubberopolis. 
Akron  is  the  chief  rubber-manufacturing  center  of  the 
world.  It  has  more  than  twenty  factories  which  make 
things  of  rubber,  and  the  rubber  tires  made  each  year  for 


Making  rubber  belting  in  an  Akron  factory. 

motor  cars  and  trucks  and  for  motor  cycles,  bicycles,  and 
airplanes  count  up  to  millions.  Indeed,  the  motor  traffic 
of  to-day  is  cushioned  in  Akron.  There  are  other  depart- 
ments of  the  factories  which  make  rubber  sheets,  and 
belts  and  conveyors  such  as  we  saw  carrying  the  grain  in 
the  wheat  elevators,  and  others  which  make  hot-water 
bottles,  boots  and  shoes,  diving  suits  and  raincoats,  ink 
and  pencil  erasers,  elastic  bands,  and  balls  for  tennis  and 
other  games.  Indeed,  there  are  more  than  thirty  thou- 


3°4 


NORTH  AMERICA 


sand  different  articles  in  which  rubber  is  used,  and  the 
principal  ones  are  made  here. 

We  can  learn  all  about  rubber  in  Akron,  for  it  has  rubber 
experts  from  all  parts  of  the  earth.  They  tell  us  that 
some  of  the  world's  rubber  comes  from  the  wild  trees  of 
the  forests  of  the  Amazon  valley,  but  most  of  it  from  the 
cultivated  trees  in  the  plantations  of  Ceylon,  Java,  Suma- 
tra, and  the  Malay  Peninsula.  They  show  us  photographs 
of  men  gathering  rubber,  and  tell  us  it  is  the  latex  or  juice 
from  the  bark  of  the  trees.  The  trees  are  tapped  so  that 
the  juice  oozes  out.  It  is  collected  from  day  to  day  and 
smoked,  or  cured  in  other  ways,  and  made  into  great  lumps 
or  sheets  for  the  market. 


An  army  dirigible  balloon  made  at  Akron.   It  is  of  finest  rubber  and 
is  filled  with  gas.    The  bag  is  200  feet  long. 


COLUMBUS,  CINCINNATI,  ETC.  305 

The  rubber  men  take  us  through  the  factories  where  the 
crude  rubber,  is  softened  in  vats  of  hot  water,  and  then 
crushed  between  great  rollers  of  steel  so  that  it  comes  out 
in  sheets.  It  is  next  washed  to  get .  out  the  dirt.  It  is 
crushed  and  kneaded  and  cleaned  by  machinery  again  and 
again.  It  is  treated  with  sulphur,  and  other  materials 
until  it  has  the  right  texture  and  form  needed  for  rubber 
goods. 

Each  kind  of  goods  requires  its  own  process  of  prepara- 
tion and  making,  and  there  are  so  many  different  things 
going  on  that  we  might  spend  weeks  and  not  see  them  all. 
The  best  rubber  tires  are  made  of  cloth,  cord,  and  rubber 
so  put  together  that  they  will  stand  the  wear  and  tear  of 
thousands  of  miles  of  hard  travel. 

Leaving  Akron,  we  motor  to  Canton,  another  manu- 
facturing city,  noted  also  as  the  home  and  burial  place 
of  President  McKinley,  and  then  go  by  train  to  Columbus, 
the  capital  of  Ohio,  and  a  busy  industrial  center  owing 
to  the  many  railways  and  the  coal,  iron,  and  natural  gas 
fields  near  by.  We  visit  the  old  stone  State  House,  passing 
the  monument  to  President  McKinley  on  the  way  in,  and 
taking  a  look  at  the  group  of  statues  at  the  northwest 
corner.  The  group  is  called  Ohio 's  Jewels,  and  the  statues 
composing  it  are  those  of  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan,  Chase, 
Stanton,  Garfield,  and  Hayes.  Three  were  presidents  of 
the  United  States;  three  were  famous  generals  of  our 
Civil  War;  Chase  was  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court; 
and  Stanton  was  Secretary  of  War  under  Lincoln.  All 
were  born  in  Ohio.  We  wonder  if  the  statues  of  President 
Benjamin  Harrison  and  President  Harding  will  some  day 
be  added;  for  they  too  were  born  in  this  state. 

The  trip  from  Columbus  to  Cincinnati  is  through  a  rich 
farming  country,  with  manufacturing  towns  and  villages 


CARP.    N.    AMER.— 19 


306  NORTH  AMERICA 

at  every  few  miles.  On  the  way  we  pass  through  Dayton, 
where  we  see  the  airplane  factories  founded  by  the  Wright 
brothers,  who  made  the  first  successful  flight  of  a  heavier- 
than-air  flying  machine.  Here  also  are  made  cash  regis- 
ters, which  are  used  all  over  the  world. 

Cincinnati  has  so  many  factories  and  foundries  that  it 
reminds  us  of  Pittsburgh.  It  is  located  on  the  Ohio  River 
,and  has  many  trunk  lines  of  railway  which  go  out  in  every 
(direction.  The  city  is  built  upon  a  terrace  surrounded 
by  a  semicircle  of  hills,  upon  which  the  finest  residences 
stand.  We  take  motor  cars  and  ride  up  the  hills  for  a 
view  of  the  city.  It  covers  all  together  seventy  square  miles, 
and  the  buildings  run  for  twenty-two  miles  along  the  Ohio. 

A  night's  ride  on  the  steamer  lands  us  in  Louisville,  the 
largest  city  of  Kentucky.  It  is  noted  as  a  tobacco  center, 
and  it  has  factories  of  other  kinds.  During  our  stay  we 
go  outside  the  town  to  see  the  grave  of  President  Zachary 
Taylor,  who  was  buried  near  his  old  home  five  miles  away, 
and  we  wish  we  had  time  to  visit  the  log  cabin  in  another 
part  of  the  state  where  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born.  We 
should  like  also  to  see  Mammoth  Cave,  which  is  one  of 
our  natural  wonders.  It  consists  of  a  series  of  underground 
halls  many  miles  long,  with  some  chambers  or  domes  al- 
most half  as  high  as  the  Washington  Monument.  Passages 
and  avenues  lead  from  room  to  room,  and  there  are  several 
streams  flowing  through  the  caverns,  one  of  which  passes 
under  a  beautiful  natural  bridge. 

Leaving  Kentucky,  we  cross  the  Ohio  River,  and  three 
hours  by  train  brings  us  to  Indianapolis.  It  is  the  capital 
of  Indiana  and  an  important  railroad  and  manufacturing 
center.  It  is  here  that  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  twenty- 
third  president  of  the  United  States,  lived,  and  here  James 
Whitcomb  Riley  wrote  "The  Raggedy  Man,"  "Little 


CHICAGO  307 

Orphant  Annie,"  "The  Old  Swimmin'  Hole"  and  others 
of  his  poems.  We  visit  the  house  where  Riley  lived,  and 
then  look  at  the  statues  of  some  of  Indiana's  great  men 
in  Monument  Place.  We  walk  tnrough  the  state  capitol, 
drive  about  through  the  beautiful  residence  section,  and 
then  take  a  train  for  Chicago. 

1.  Write  a  list  of  a  dozen  articles  in  which  rubber  is  used. 

2.  Bring  a  rubber  ball  or  pencil  eraser  to  class  and  let  it  tell  the 
story  of  its  adventures.    In  what  city  are  most  of  our  rubber  goods 
made?      (For   further  information   about   rubber   see   Carpenter's 
"South  America,"  page  343,  and  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is 
Clothed,"  pages  240-261.) 

3.  Name  six  important  towns  of  Ohio  and  tell  for  what  each  is 
noted. 

4.  Why  is  the  group  of  statutes  at  the  State  House  in  Columbus 
called   "Ohio's  Jewels"?     What   Presidents  were   born  in  Ohio? 
What  other  state  was  the  home  of  many  Presidents? 

5.  Locate  the  chief  commercial  center  of  Kentucky.     For  what 
is  it  noted?    What  President  is  buried  near  this  city? 

6.  Make  an  imaginary  trip  to  Mammoth  Cave  and  describe  it. 

7.  What  poet  lived  in  Indianapolis?    What  President?    Tell  all 
you  can  about  them. 


.    XLIII.  CHICAGO 

WE  must  wake  up  this  morning  and  keep  our  eyes  open. 
We  are  in  one  of  the  liveliest  and  most  enterprising 
cities  on  earth.  Chicago  is  second  in  size  among  the  cities 
of  the  United  States  and  it  is  surpassed  only  by  New  York, 
London,  and  Paris  in  all  the  world.  By  the  census  of  1920  it 
had  more  than  twenty-seven  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 
or  more  people  than  any  one  of  thirty-six  states  of  the 
Union.  The  city  does  more  business  than  many  of  our 


3o8  NORTH  AMERICA 

states,  and  its  streets  and  alleys  if  joined  together  would 
reach  farther  than  the  public  roads  of  many  of  them. 

Chicago  is  the  chief  distributing  center  of  the  interior 
of  the  United  States,  fcorty  per  cent  of  our  railway  mile- 
age terminates  here,  and  the  Great  Lakes  also  give  the 
city  access  to  a  vast  population  in  this  country  and  Canada, 
forming  a  waterway  to  and  from  the  ocean.  The  whole- 
sale trade  of  Chicago  is  three  or  four  billion  dollars  a  year. 
It  is  the  chief  live-stock,  grain,  and  lumber  market  of  the 
world,  and  one  of  its  greatest  manufacturing  centers. 
It  has  eleven  thousand  industrial  establishments  and 
produces  goods  every  year  to  the  amount  of  more  than  one 
billion  dollars. 

Chicago  is  a  baby  among  the  great  cities  of  the  world. 
Boston  and  New  York  were  more  than  two  hundred  years 
old  when  it  was  founded,  and  London  and  Paris  were  not 
far  from  two  thousand  years  old.  The  first  settlement  in 
Chicago  was  made  about  1830,  and  as  late  as  1843  the 
city  council  enacted  a  law  that  hogs  should  no  longer  run 
at  large  through  its  streets.  In  1837  it  had  only  four 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  for  long  after  that  time,  the 
place  where  the  biggest  buildings  now  stand  was  a  swamp 
and  the  ground  was  so  wet  that  no  cellars  could  be  dug. 
The  swamp  came  right  down  to  the  lake,  just  where  the 
people  wanted  their  city. 

What  the  people  did  shows  the  enterprising  spirit  of 
Chicago,  a  spirit  that  has  aided  greatly  in  making  it  the 
city  it  is  to-day.  They  decided  that  the  town  must  have 
a  solid  foundation,  so  they  lifted  their  houses  on  stilts 
and  brought  in  earth  from  the  country  about.  As  the 
city  grew  they  drove  piles  down  to  make  the  foundations 
and  erected  buildings  upon  them,  and  later  invented 
foundations  of  steel  and  concrete  so  designed  that  they 


CHICAGO  309 

would  support  the  great  buildings  above.  In  this  way  the 
height  of  the  land  near  the  lake  was  raised  fifteen  feet, 
and  the  huge  structures  upon  it  are  as  firm  as  those  of 
New  York.  Indeed,  no  one  would  imagine  that  the  land 
here  had  ever  been  a  swamp. 

In  addition  to  the  huge  buildings  on  the  surface,  Chicago 
has  constructed  a  network  of  tunnels  far  under  the  ground. 
Some  of  the  tunnels  are  for  electric  light  and  power,  some 
for  telegraph  and  telephone  lines,  and  some  for  the  freight 
traffic,  which  is  so  great  that  it  cannot  all  be  accommo- 
dated above. 

The  water  supply  comes  through  pipes  from  cribs  two 
miles  out  in  the  lake,  in  order  that  the  purity  of  the  water 
may  not  be  affected  by  the  refuse  near  the  shores.  This 
is  considered  so  important  to  the  health  of  the  city  that 
people  have  turned  the  Chicago  River  figuratively  speak- 
ing upside  down  and  made  it  carry  the  sewage  to  the 
Mississippi  system  and  so  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
river  at  one  time  flowed  into  the  lake,  but  by  means  of 
the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  its  waters  now  go  into  the 
Illinois  River,  which  flows  into  the  Mississippi.  At  some 
time  in  the  future  these  waterways  may  be  made  into  a 
ship  canal  which  will  bring  the  traffic  of  the  ocean  via 
the  Gulf  to  Chicago.  We  have  already  seen  at  Niagara, 
how  the  Canadians  claim  that  some  of  our  share  of  the 
waters  of  the  Great  Lakes  thus  passes  off  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  how  we  are  taking  less  of  the  power  of  the 
falls  on  that  account. 

But  why  has  such  a  great  city  grown  up  at  this  point? 
The  answer  is  that  Chicago  is  located  at  the  place  farthest 
southwest  on  the  Great  Lakes  in  the  heart  of  the  corn  belt, 
and  at  the  cross  roads  between  the  industrial  East  and 
the  agricultural  and  ore-producing  West;  it  is  within  easy 


3io 


NORTH   AMERICA 


access  of  the  cotton  fields  of  the  South,  and  the  great 
iron  and  copper  mines  of  the  North.     The  city  has  the 
cheapest  water  transportation  and  the  best  railroad  faciL 
ties.    There  are  vast  coal  deposits  just  south  of   it,  and  it 
is  within  easy  reach  of  the  Appalachian  coal  mines.     It 


Swimming  pool  in  Chicago. 


CHICAGO  311 

has  cheap  copper  and  iron  ore  from  about  Lake  Superior, 
and  lumber  from  the  forests  about  the  Great  Lakes.  It 
receives  enormous  supplies  of  grain  by  water  and  rail. 
As  a  result  of  these  things  Chicago  is  one  of  the  best  places 
in  the  world  in  which  to  do  business  and  to  make  things 
to  sell.  In  South  Chicago,  and  Gary  near  by,  are  steel' 
plants  quite  as  wonderful  as  those  we  saw  about  Pittsburgh, 
and  in  some  parts  of  the  city  are  plants  making  machinery 
which  are  greater  than  those  of  any  other  country.  One 
such  factory  turns  out  a  reaper  and  binder  every  minute 
throughout  the  day.  Another  section  of  the  city  is  de- 
voted to  making  steel  cars,  others  to  elevators  and  grain 
and  flour  mills,  and  others  to  the  great  meat-packing 
establishments  which  we  shall  see  later  on. 

We  choose  one  of  the  sight-seeing  automobiles  for  our 
tour  through  Chicago.  Seated  high  above  the  rest  of  the 
vehicles,  we  spend  a  day  in  riding  over  the  magnificent 
boulevards  along  the  lake  and  out  through  the  parks. 
The  city  is  almost  surrounded  by  parks,  every  one  of  which 
has  baseball  grounds,  golf  links,  and  tennis  courts.  There 
are  so  many  places  for  bathing  that  it  is  said  every  boy  in 
Chicago  lives  within  easy  walking  distance  of  a  swimming- 
hole  of  one  kind  or  another. 

Near  the  center  of  the  city,  we  cross  the  Chicago  River. 
The  bridge  is  as  busy  as  the  one  which  crosses  the  Thames 
(temz)  in  the  heart  of  London.  Riding  on,  we  find  ourselves 
in  the  loop  district,  which  is  perhaps  the  most  thickly 
populated  business  section  of  the  world.  Here  in  a  space 
not  larger  than  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
shut  off  by  the  river,  the  lake,  and  the  railways,  a  quarter 
of  a  million  people  are  at  work  every  day  and  almost  two 
millions  walk  through  the  streets.  The  buildings  are  of 
enormous  size.  They  remind  us  of  the  huge  structures  of 


312 


CHICAGO  313 

lower  New  York.  The  loop  has  nineteen  streets,  nearly 
all  of  which  have  street  car  lines  on  them.  We  are  told 
that  more  than  twenty  thousand  street  cars  and  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  thousand  vehicles  pass  through  every  day. 

Going  on  through  the  business  section,  we  cross  Washing- 
ton, Madison,  Jefferson,  and  Adams  streets,  and  the  guide 
shouts  out  through  his  horn  that  they  were  named  after 
the  Presidents.  He  adds  that  a  boy  asked  him  the  other 
day  how  it  came  that  the  Presidents  of  the  United  States 
were  named  after  the  streets  of  Chicago.  We  laugh  with 
him.  The  guide  says  that  Chicago  is  famous  as  a  conven- 
tion city,  and  that  the  national  conventions  which  nom- 
inated Lincoln,  Grant,  Garfield,  Cleveland,  Harrison, 
Roosevelt,  Taft,  and  Harding  for  President  were  all  held  in 
Chicago. 

Leaving  the  business  part  of  the  city,  we  visit  some  of 
the  manufacturing  sections,  watching  the  workmen  as 
they  go  in  and  out.  We  are  surprised  to  see  so  many 
foreigners.  A  large  part  of  our  immigrants  have  come 
here  to  work,  so  many  indeed  that  we  are  told  that  about 
three  fourths  of  the  people  ot  Chicago  are  foreign  born  or 
children  of  foreign-born  parents.  The  city  has  about 
four  hundred  thousand  Germans,  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  Poles,  and  an  almost  equal  number  of  Russians. 
It  has  many  Irish,  Swedes,  Italians,  Scotch,  English,  and 
Danes.  It  has  Bohemians  from  Czechoslovakia,  as  well 
as  thousands  of  Lithuanians.  It  is  said  that  each  of  four- 
teen foreign  languages  is  spoken  by  ten  thousand  people  or 
more,  and  that  the  Chicago  newspapers  are  printed  in 
ten  different  languages,  while  the  preachers  give  sermons 
in  twenty  different  tongues. 

We  believe  in  having  citizens  who  speak  English,  and  we 
ask  about  the  schools  needed  to  make  the  children  of  this 


314  NORTH  AMERICA 

great  foreign  population  patriotic  Americans.  We  are  told 
that  a  schoolhouse  is  to  be  found  on  almost  every  street, 
and  that  Chicago  already  has  more  than  eight  thousand 
teachers  and  more  than  one  third  of  a  million  children  in 
its  public  schools.  It  has  also  universities  and  professional 
schools,  and  the  books  in  its  libraries  number  more  than 
two  millions. 


XLIV.  A    CITY   OF   ANIMALS  —WE   VISIT 
MILWAUKEE 

/CHICAGO  has  a  city  of  animals  in  the  midst  of  its 
V_^  great  city  of  men.  This  city  is  the  Union  Stockyards, 
where  about  seventeen  million  sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs  are 
received  every  year.  This  is  so  many  that  if  they  could  be 
driven  along  in  single  file,  allowing  each  animal  ten  feet 
on  the  roadway,  the  procession  would  reach  more  than  one 
and  a  half  times  around  the  world  at  the  equator.  These 
animals  are  coming  into  Chicago  at  every  hour  of  the  day 
and  night  throughout  the  year,  and  at  the  same  time  long 
trains  are  starting  out  carrying  beef,  pork,  and  mutton 
and  their  many  by-products  to  all  parts  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  our  seaports  for  shipment  abroad. 

We  take  automobiles  at  our  hotel,  and  ride  to  the  stock- 
yards. The  air  is  filled  with  the  bellowing  of  steers,  the 
bleating  of  sheep,  and  the  shrill  squealing  of  pigs.  Here 
great  droves  of  cattle  are  being  unloaded  and  driven  this 
way  and  that  to  be  sold  or  be  killed.  There  cars  loaded 
with  pigs  are  discharging  their  freight,  and  coming  out  of 
the  trains  farther  on  are  long  lines  of  sheep. 

We  climb  to  the  roof  of  a  tall  building  inside  the  yards 
and  look  down.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  animal  city, 


A  CITY  OF  ANIMALS 


315 


divided  into  sections  and  wards,  the  houses  of  which  are 
covered  and  uncovered  pens,  built  along  streets  that 
cross  one  another  at  right  angles.  Each  section  has  its 
own  kind  of  four-footed  inhabitants.  Here  is  one  devoted 
to  cattle,  the  pens  of  which  hold  two  or  three  hundred 
steers.  The  pens  have  no  roofs,  and  we  can  look  down 


A  small  part  of  the  Union  Stock  Yards,  Chicago. 

on  the  backs  of  the  cattle.  Near  by  is  a  ward  rilled  with 
sheep.  It  has  enough  lambs  to  supply  all  the  Marys  of 
the  schools  of  our  town,  and  they  all  seem  to  be  bleating. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  are  hogs,  large  and  small, 
each  ward  containing  tens  of  thousands  of  grunters. 

Look  down  into  the  pens.  Each  has  a  long  trough  for 
water,  and  another  for  food.  There  are  thousands  of  such 
troughs,  and  the  feeding  boxes  if  joined  together  would 
reach  many  miles.  The  water  comes  from  artesian  wells 


316  NORTH  AMERICA 

twelve  hundred  feet  deep,  so  that  the  supply  filters  in 
from  below  the  bed  of  Lake  Michigan. 

Observe  the  factories  about;  they  are  the  killing  and 
meat-packing  establishments.  See  how  the  railroad  tracks 
extend  out  in  every  direction.  The  cars  come  in  from 
every  part  of  the  corn  belt,  and  go  out  to  every  town  in 
our  country.  There  is  a  canal  at  one  side  of  the  yards, 
upon  which  boats  can  bring  animals  in  from  Lake  Mich- 
igan, and  the  place  has  every  means  of  transportation  for 
carrying  in  these  animals  as  the  raw  material,  and  for 
sending  out  the  meat  and  other  products  into  which  they 
are  made. 

What  are  those  high  buildings  in  the  center  of  the  city? 
They  might  be  called  the  market  house,  for  it  is  there  that 
the  stock  men  and  packers  come  to  buy  and  sell  the  four- 
footed  citizens.  The  animals  in  the  pens  are  changed 
every  day.  Those  now  below  us  will  be  dead  by  this  time 
to-morrow,  and  another  horde  will  have  taken  their  places. 
As  many  as  ninety  thousand  hogs,  seventy  thousand 
sheep,  and  nine  thousand  calves  have  passed  through  here 
in  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours. 

But  let  us  go  down  into  the  city.  It  is  early  morning, 
and  the  streets  are  filled  with  hogs,  cattle,  and  sheep 
moving  from  one  street  to  another.  Some  of  the  drovers 
are  on  horseback  and  some  on  foot.  They  have  great  whips 
which  they  crack  as  they  yell  at  the  beasts.  At  the  same 
time  the  agents  of  the  packing  houses  are  looking  over  the 
stock.  They  seem  to  buy  at  a  glance,  and  when  the  selling 
hours  are  over,  the  animals  are  driven  off  to  be  slaughtered. 

Let  us  go  with  them  and  see  how  this  is  done.  The 
packing  houses  are  more  like  huge  factories  than  the  small 
slaughterhouses  of  a  village.  We  follow  the  hogs.  They 
go  in  alive  at  one  end  and  do  not  stop  until  they  come  out 


A  CITY  OF  ANIMALS  317 

at  the  other  in  roasts  and  chops,  and  in  hams,  bacon, 
sausage,  and  lard.  From  the  refuse  are  made  buttons, 
hairbrushes,  soap,  and  a  hundred  other  things.  Upon  in- 
quiry we  find  that  every  part  of  the  body  is  used;  and  when 
the  butchers  tell  us  that  they  can  sell  in  one  shape  or 
another  every  bit  of  the  hog  but  his  squeal,  we  wonder 
if  a  phonograph  might  not  preserve  that. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  cattle  and  sheep,  scarcely  an 
atom  of  meat,  bone,  blood,  or  hair  going  to  waste.  The 
bones  are  made  into  fertilizer,  and  into  bone  black  for 
the  refining  of  sugar.  They  are  turned  into  hairpins  and 
combs,  and  are  used  as  knife  handles.  The  heofs  and  the 
scraps  of  bone  and  skin  become  glue.  The  blood  also  is 
used  as  a  fertilizer.  The  hides  go  to  the  tanners,  and  the 
very  ones  they  are  taking  off  now  may  come  back  to  us 
next  winter  as  soles  for  our  boots  and  shoes.  The  wool 
is  pulled  from  the  sheepskins,  and  the  skins  afterwards 
used  for  the  making  of  gloves.  Some  parts  of  each  animal 
are  turned  into  medicines,  extracts,  and  tonics;  and  others 
into  soups  and  the  many  meat  products  served  in  cans. 
Indeed,  we  might  fill  many  pages  with  a  list  of  the  things 
made  in  these  packing  houses. 

Much  of  the  meat  is  sold  fresh,  being  shipped  over  the 
country  to  the  towns  and  villages  in  cold  storage  cars,  and 
a  great  deal  of  it  goes  to  the  seaports,  where  it  is  placed  in 
the  cold  chambers  of  the  steamers  for  its  long  ride  over 
the  ocean. 

Chicago  is  an  excellent  place  to  learn  about  the  live  stock 
of  the  United  States,  and  our  great  meat-packing  industry. 
It  is  to  meat  what  Akron  is  to  rubber,  and  Detroit  to  the 
automobile.  Its  stockyards  are  larger  than  those  of  any 
other  city,  although  much  meat  packing  is  done  at  Omaha, 
St.  Joseph,  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City,  St.  Paul,  and  Fort 


318  NORTH  AMERICA 

Worth,  and  there  are  smaller  yards  in  other  parts  of  the 
country  where  animals  are  killed.  The  capital  involved  in 
the  business  of  meat  production  in  this  country  amounts 
to  about  eighteen  billion  dollars.  The  United  States 
produces  more  meat  than  any  other  part  of  the  world. 
The  countries  which  compete  with  us  in  the  markets  of 
Europe  are  Canada  and  Argentina  in  beef,. and  Argentina, 
Australia,  and  New  Zealand  in  mutton. 

Leaving  Chicago,  we  go  by  automobile  northward  along 
the  western  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  to  Milwaukee,  the 
largest  city  of  Wisconsin.  The  distance  is  eighty-five 
miles,  but  the  road  is  fine  and  our  cheeks  are  fanned  by  the 
breezes  fresh  from  the  lake. 

Milwaukee  lies  on  Lake  Michigan,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Milwaukee  River.  The  harbor  has  been  protected  by 
a  breakwater,  and  this  river  and  two  of  its  branches  have 
been  so  dredged  and  widened  that  the  shipping  comes 
right  to  the  doors  of  the  factories  and  warehouses,  as  it 
does  in  Hamburg  and  Rotterdam.  The  port  has  a  large 
trade,  and  it  is  noted  for  its  meat  packing,  its  tanneries, 
and  manufactures  of  various  kinds.  It  gets  its  ore  and 
coal  by  the  lakes  and  makes  many  things  of  iron  and  steel, 
including  much  of  the  machinery  used  in  our  flour  mills. 
It  grinds  thousands  of  barrels  of  flour  every  day,  and 
makes  a  cream-colored  brick  which  is  shipped  all  over  the 
country. 

During  our  stay  we  drive  about  through  the  residence 
section,  which  is  on  a  bluff  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  lake,  and  go  out  to  Washington  Park,  where  there  is 
a  large  herd  of  deer.  We  motor  along  Sheridan  Drive, 
which  looks  out  on  Lake  Michigan,  and  later  make  a 
photograph  of  the  City  Hall,  which  has  an  illuminated 
clock  dial,  visible  at  night  two  miles  away. 


WE  VISIT  MILWAUKEE 


319 


Grand  Avenue,  Milwaukee. 

Milwaukee  is  sometimes  called  the  German  Athens  of 
America  on  account  of  its  many  German  citizens  of  learn- 
ing and  culture.  Several  of  its  daily  newspapers  are  printed 
in  German.  The  city  has  excellent  schools  and  colleges. 

1.  Locate  Chicago  and  show  why  it  has  become  such  a  great  city. 
Compare  it  in  size  and  age  with  other  very  large  cities. 

2.  What    river   connects    Chicago   with    the    Mississippi    River? 
Show  the  advantages  of  the  city  as  a  railway  and  commercial  center. 

3.  Trace  a  cargo  of  iron  ore  from  Lake  Superior  to  Chicago.    A 
cargo  of  grain  by  water  from  Chicago  to  New  York.    A  threshing 
machine  to  Siberia. 


PLATEAU  STATES 


THE  GREAT  WESTERN  HIGHLAND  321 

4.  Why  was  the  drainage  canal  built?     How  does  it  affect  the 
supply  of  electric  power  at  Niagara? 

5.  Where  is  the  loop?     Describe  it.     Why  is  so  much  business 
done  there? 

6.  Why  has  Chicago  so  many  foreigners?    Is  this  a  good  thing 
for  a  city? 

7.  Make  a  visit  to  the  stockyards  and  tell  what  you  see.    Why 
is  Chicago  the  center  of  our  meat-packing  industry?    Name  some 
of  the  articles  made  in  the  meat-packing  factories. 

8.  Tell  the  story  of  a  hog  from  its  piggyhood  in  the  corn  belt  to 
the  shop  of  your  town.    (See  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Fed," 
page  92.) 

9.  What  other  countries  export  large  quantities  of  meat?    Which 
excels  in  beef?    Which  in  mutton? 

10.  Where  is  Milwaukee?    Mention  some  of  the  things  for  which 
the  city  is  noted. 


XLV.  ON  THE  ROOF  OF  OUR  CONTINENT  —  THE 
GREAT  WESTERN  HIGHLAND 

OUR  next  travels  are  to  be  on  the  roof  of  the  North 
American  continent.  We  shall  go  west  from  Lake 
Michigan  over  the  prairi6s  to  the  Mississippi  River,  and 
there  begin  a  gradual  climb  which  will  take  us  about  a 
mile  above  the  sea  to  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
We  shall  cross  over  these  mountains  into  the  Great  West- 
ern Highland,  which  is  walled  in  by  the  Rockies  on  the 
east,  and  by  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  Cascade  Mountains 
on  the  west.  The  highland  is  an  almost  arid  plateau  high 
above  the  sea  level,  with  ranges  of  mountains  running 
through  it  from  the  north  to  the  south.  It  extends  through 
the  United  States  from  Canada  to  Mexico,  and  in  places  is 
as  wide  as  from  Chicago  to  Boston.  Some  of  the  moun- 
tains rise  almost  three  miles  above  the  sea.  The  plateau 
extends  south  almost  to  Panama,  and  north  to  Alaska, 


322  NORTH  AMERICA 

where  it  includes  Mt.  McKinley,  the  highest  point  in 
North  America,  having  an  altitude  of  about  twenty  thou- 
sand five  hundred  feet. 

The  Western  Highland  has  deserts  where  one  may  travel 
for  hours  and  see  nothing  but  sagebrush  and  dusty-gray 
earth,  with  here  and  there  perhaps  the  mounds  of  a  prairie 
dog  village.  It  has  tracts  of  thin  grass  upon  which  are  fed 
great  flocks  of  sheep;  a  large  part  of  our  wool  comes  from 
this  high,  arid  country.  It  has  extensive  forests  in  the 
regions  where  there  is  a  more  abundant  rainfall,  and  in  the 
desert  are  found  many  oases,  made  possible  by  the  dams 
erected  by  our  government  to  store  up  the  mountain  rains 
and  snows  for  irrigation.  It  is  the  treasure  land  of  the 
United  States  as  far  as  minerals  are  concerned.  Nearly 
everywhere  through  it  are  to  be  found  gold,  silver,  and 
copper,  and  in  places  there  are  beds  of  coal,  including 
some  of  good  anthracite. 

The  plateau  is  divided  into  eight  states  of  enormous 
size.  Montana  is  surpassed  only  by  Texas  and  California. 
Colorado  is  twice  the  size  of  New  York.  New  Mexico  is 
about  four  times  the  size  of  South  Carolina,  and  Utah  and 
Idaho  are  ea.ch  twice  as  large  as  Kentucky  or  Virginia. 
Nevada  is  almost  twice  as  large  as  Illinois,  and  Arizona  is 
of  about  the  same  size.  The  state  of  Wyoming  would  make 
twelve  the  size  of  Massachusetts,  and  as  for  Rhode  Island, 
it  would  be  lost  in  some  counties  of  our  Western  High- 
lanci^-- 

she  highland  is  sparsely  settled  on  account  of  its  desert 
character,  but  it  has  some  cities,  such  as  Denver  in  Colo- 
rado, Butte  in  Montana,  Boise  in  Idaho,  and  Salt  Lake  City 
in  Utah,  which  have  grown  up  largely  on  account  of  min- 
ing. There  are  other  cities  in  the  irrigated  valleys,  and 
mining  settlements  scattered  about  through  the  regions 


THE  GREAT  WESTERN  HIGHLAND  323 

of  gold,  silver,  and  copper  production.  But  we  shall  see 
this  in  detail  as  we  travel  over  the  country. 

The  first  part  of  our  journey  is  through  the  corn  belt. 
On  our  way  west  we  pass  through  Wisconsin  and  Iowa, 
and  stop  at  the  fine  commercial  and  manufacturing  city 
of  Omaha,  on  the  Missouri  River.  Rich  crops  continue 
throughout  eastern  Nebraska,  and  farther  on  we  see  cat-! 
tie  and  sheep  feeding  on  the  dry  grass  almost  to  the  foot 
of  the  mountains.  The  latter  part  of  our  journey  is 
through  the  Great  Plains,  which  run  north  and  south  from 
Canada  to  Mexico.  They  begin  west  of  the  Missouri  and 
gradually  rise  until  they  are  about  a  mile  above  sea  level 
at  the  foothills  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  lands  grow 
drier  as  we  travel  westward,  but  as  we  near  Denver,  we 
come  out  of  the  desert  into  a  wide  strip  of  green  fields 
irrigated  by  the  snow  waters  of  the  Rockies.  The  fields 
are  cut  by  canals,  and  wheat,  oats,  and  alfalfa  are  to  be 
seen  on  both  sides  of  the  railway. 

Beyond  this  strip  of  green  we  behold  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. They  rise  up  in  the  distance  in  a  great  wall  of  blue, 
crested  with  snow  that  shines  like  silver  in  the  rays  of  the 
sun.  Fleecy  white  clouds  rise  from  some  of  the  peaks, 
and  we  can  hardly  tell  where  the  cloud  wall  ends  and  the 
snow  wall  begins. 

We  spend  a  few  days  in  Denver.  It  is  a  beautiful  city, 
a  mile  above  the  sea  and  right  on  the  edge  of  the  Rockies. 
It  has  grown  on  account  of  ifc^  mining  industry  of  the 
western  plateau  which  is  tributary  to  it,  and  the  grazing 
and  agricultural  regions  near  by.^JLt  is  the  leading  indus- 
trial center  of  the  Western  Highland,  one  of  its  chief 
products  being  mining  and  smelting  machinery.  It  is 
noted,  also,  for  its  beautiful  residential  sections  and  its 
fine,  dry  climate. 

CARP.    N.    AMER. 20 


324  NORTH  AMERICA 

Denver  is  one  of  the  chief  gateways  to  the  mountains, 
and  to  most  of  our  national  playgrounds,  the  great  public 
parks  and  forest  reservations  which  the  government  has 
set  aside  upon  the  plateau.  There  are  mountain  parks 
almost  on  the  edge  of  Denver,  and  Pikes  Peak,  which  rises 
almost  two  miles  above  it,  is  only  a  few  miles  distant  by  rail. 

Pikes  Peak  is  named  after  Zebulon  Pike,  who  discovered 
the  mountain  more  than  a  century  ago  and  tried  to  climb 
it.  He  failed,  and  as  he  turned  back  he  remarked  that 
nothing  but  a  bird  could  reach  that  snowy  summit. 

But  we  shall  reach  the  top  of  Pikes  Peak,  traveling  at 
our  ease  in  a  car.  A  railroad  like  the  one  upon  which 
we  went  to  the  top  of  Mt.  Washington  takes  us  up  its 
steep  slopes,  until  at  last  when  we  step  from  the  train  we 
are  almost  three  miles  above  the  level  of  Washington,  D.  C., 
where  we  started  upon  our  long  tour.  There  is  snow  on 
the  top  of  the  mountain,  and  we  make  snowballs  and 
have  a  snow  fight  while  we  stay. 

Standing  upon  Pikes  Peak,  we  have  a  wonderful  pano- 
rama of  mountains  and  valleys.  Stretching  to  the  east- 
ward are  the  Great  Plains,  dotted  with  villages  and  cities, 
which  are  mere  specks  on  the  landscape.  At  our  feet  is 
the  Garden  of  the  Gods,  a  valley  filled  with  huge  rock 
formations,  so  far  down  that  it  looks  like  a  flower  bed. 
To  the  north  and  south  and  off  to  the  west  rise  hill  upon 
hill  and  mountain  upon  mountain,  looking  like  piles  of 
rocks  of  gigantic  size,  thrown  together  in  all  sorts  of  shapes. 
As  we  stand  on  the  peak  the  clouds  are  floating  above  and 
below  us.  Now  they  sweep  upward,  and  for  a  time  we 
are  enveloped  in  mist.  Now  a  thunderstorm  breaks  down 
the  slope.  The  lightning  flashes  against  the  rocks,  and 
we  hear  the  deep  roll  of  thunder  in  the  rain  storm  far 
below  us. 


Pikes  Peak,  as  seen  from  near  Colorado  Springs. 


Railroad  up  Pikes  Peak.    A  cogwheel  on  the  engine  fits  into  cogs  on 
the  center  rail. 

325 


326  NORTH  AMERICA 

XL  VI.  OUR  NATION'S  WONDERLAND  —  THE 
NATIONAL  PARKS 


western  plateau  is  the  wonderland  of  America. 
JL  There  is  no  other  place  in  the  world  where  we  can  see 
so  many  marvelous  things.  It  has  waterfalls  higher  than 
Niagara,  deserts  almost  as  dry  and  dreary  as  the  Sahara, 
forests  which  have  been  turned  into  stone  and  other  forests 
.whose  trees  are  so  big  that  a  large  schoolroom  could  be 
cut  out  inside  the  trunk  of  one  of  them  and  leave  room  to 
spare. 

Within  two  or  three  days  '  ride  of  Pikes  Peak  lie  some  of 
our  greatest  natural  wonders.  Going  to  the  northwest  we 
can  reach  the  hot  springs  and  geysers  of  Yellowstone  Park, 
and  going  still  farther  in  the  same  direction  we  can  reach 
Glacier  Park,  where  more  than  sixty  ice  rivers  are  moving 
slowly  down  the  mountains.  We  can  go  to  the  southwest 
to  the  Mesa  Verde  Park,  where  were  the  homes  of  the 
cliff  dwellers,  and  can  actually  go  through  some  of  the 
homes  of  those  ancient  Indians.  They  lived  in  caves  and 
in  houses  which  they  built  in  the  cliffs,  reaching  them  by 
ladders  or  zigzag  trails  from  their  farms  in  the  valleys  be- 
low. 

Farther  on  to  the  southwest  is  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the 
Colorado,  where  the  river  flows  between  the  walls  of  the 
deepest  and  longest  cut  in  the  earth  crust  known  to  man. 
The  canyon,  cut  out  by  the  river,  is  a  mile  deep,  fifteen 
miles  wide  at  the  top,  and  two  hundred  miles  long.  The 
space  is  half  filled  with  rock  masses  carved  into  forms 
which  resemble  gigantic  castles,  temples,  and  cathedrals. 
If  they  stood  on  the  plateau  they  would  form  a  rugged 
range  of  mountains  a  mile  high.  Their  walls  are  highly 
colored  in  tints  of  red,  chocolate,  yellow,  and  gray.  These 


Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  River  in  Arizona.    The  walls  of  the 

canyon  are  brightly  colored.   Notice  how  small  the  man  at  the 

upper  left  appears. 


327 


328 


NORTH  AMERICA 


colors  change  from  morning  to  evening,  and  sometimes 
the  canyon  is  hidden  by  clouds  floating  in  its  depths.  The 
Colorado  River  rises  in  Colorado,  and  drains  a  large  part 
of  the  Rockies. 

Traveling  to  the  north  and  south  through  the  Western 
Highland  we  shall  find  many  other  natural  wonders.    In 


Edwin  Natural  Bridge  in  Utah,  104  feet  high  and  194  feet  long. 

Utah  there  are  huge  bridges  of  stone,  formed  by  nature, 
which  far  surpass  the  natural  bridge  of  Virginia.  In  Cali- 
fornia are  lakes  such  as  Ta'hoe,  at  an  altitude  higher  than 
that  of  Mt.  Washington,  and  in  Oregon,  in  the  heart  of  the 
Cascades,  is  Crater  Lake,  whose  bed  is  the  top  of  an  ex- 
tinct volcano  as  high  as  Mt.  Shasta,  which  is  in  plain 
sight  a  hundred  miles  off  to  the  south.  Crater  Lake  is 
surrounded  by  gray  lava  and  its  water  is  the  bluest  of  blue. 


THE  NATIONAL  PARKS  329 

It  is  two  thousand  feet  deep,  and  as  far  as  one  can  see  it 
has  no  inlet  or  outlet,  although  some  of  the  water  is  sup- 
posed to  escape  underground  and  to  reappear  in  the  Klam- 
ath  River,  a  few  miles  away.  The  Mount  Rainier  (ra-ner7) 
National  Park  near  Seattle  (se-at"l)  has  twenty-eight 
glaciers,  some  of  which  are  five  hundred  feet  thick,  and 
the  Rocky  Mountain  Park  in  Colorado  has  snow-clad 
peaks,  one  of  which  is  more  than  fourteen  thousand  feet 
high. 

Altogether  Uncle  Sam  has  set  aside  nineteen  great  parks, 
which  are  to  be  kept  on  account  of  their  scenery  and 
grandeur  as  the  playgrounds  of  the  nation.  Some  of  them 
contain  buffalo,  moose,  elk,  bear,  and  other  wild  animals, 
which  no  one  is  allowed  to  shoot  or  disturb.  Others  have 
mountain  sheep  and  goats.  In  all  of  them  one  can  go 
camping  without  charge,  and  in  most  of  them  are  good 
roads  and  trails  and  comfortable  hotels.  In  the  Sequoia 
(se-kwoi'a)  Park  of  central  California,  there  are  twelve 
thousand  trees  over  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and  in  the  same 
region  is  the  Yosemite  (yo-sem'i-te)  Valley,  with  three 
groves  of  big  trees  and  waterfalls  of  extraordinary  height. 
General  Grant  Park  near  by  has  a  tree  thirty-five  feet  in 
thickness,  which  has  been  named  General  Grant.  In 
Wind  Cave  Park,  South  Dakota,  there  are  miles  of  galleries 
and  chambers  containing  peculiar  formations,  and  in  Platt 
Park,  in  southern  Oklahoma,  are  sulphur  and  other  springs 
of  medicinal  value.  We  have  a  park  off  the  coast  of 
Maine,  on  Mt.  Desert  Island,  named  in  honor  of  General 
Lafayette,  and  in  south  central  Alaska  is  Mt.  McKinley 
'  Park,  named  after  President  McKinley.  In  northern  Cali- 
fornia the  Lassen  Volcano  National  Park  has  the  only 
active  volcano  in  the  United  States  proper;  and  in  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  are  the  two  great  active  volcanoes  of 


Camps  and  lakes  in  Glacier  Park. 


330 


THE  YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK  331 

Kilauea  (ke-lou-a/a')  and  Mauna  Loa  (mou'na  lo'a)  which 
have  been  set  aside  for  the  use  of  the  public.  Glacier 
Park  in  Montana  has  two  hundred  and  fifty  lakes  fed  by 
glaciers,  and  precipices  hundreds  of  feet  high.  All  of  our 
national  parks  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  and  in  charge  of  a  director  especially 
appointed. 

We  wish  we  could  visit  all  of  these  wonders,  but  we 
have  only  time  enough  to  see  a  bit  of  one  of  them.  We 
cross  from  Colorado  into  Wyoming,  and  travel  to  its  north- 
western corner  and  enter  the  Yellowstone  Park. 


XLVII.  A   VISIT   TO   THE   YELLOWSTONE 
NATIONAL  PARK 

YOU  must  not  think  the  Yellowstone  a  small  place  be- 
cause it  is  called  a  park.  It  is  almost  as  large  as  Con- 
necticut, and  larger  than  some  of  the  smaller  kingdoms  of 
Europe.  The  surface  is  a  rolling  plateau,  parts  of  which 
are  covered  with  woods,  while  in  other  places  there  are 
mountains  and  deep  yawning  canyons.  The  lowest  point 
in  the  park  is  more  than  a  mile  above  the  sea,  and  near  it 
are  mountains  more  than  two  miles  in  height. 

The  Yellowstone  has  five  hundred  hot  springs  that  are 
always  boiling,  and  many  of  them  spout  water  high  into 
the  air.  As  the  water  cools  it  leaves  a  sediment,  which 
builds  up  structures  of  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  One 
hot  spring  has  thus  formed  a  white  hill  about  it  more 
than  two  hundred  feet  high.  The  water  flows  out  of  the 
top  of  the  hill  and  falls  into  one  semicircular  basin  after 


332  NORTH  AMERICA 

another  built  up  by  the  sediment.  Some  of  the  basins  are 
only  a  few  inches  deep,  while  others  have  a  depth  of  six  or 
eight  feet.  The  mineral  matter  has  painted  the  sides  of 
the  basins  in  all  shades  of  blue,  yellow,  scarlet,  and  green. 
It  has  frescoed  some  portions  with  lace  work  and  em- 
broidered them  with  what  seem  to  be  beads.  At  the  top 
the  water  is  boiling  hot.  It  cools  as  it  falls  from  basin  to 
basin,  so  that  starting  in  at  the  bottom  one  could  have 
baths  of  all  temperatures  by  merely  walking  to  the  top. 

What  would  you  think  of  a  spring  flowing  with  mineral 
paint?  There  is  one  in  Yellowstone  Park  that  covers 
more  than  an  acre.  The  paint  is  of  many  colors,  and  it 
bubbles  like  hot  mush  on  the  fire.  Another  fountain  is 
always  vomiting  forth  green,  slimy  mud  mixed  with  sul- 
phur, the  smell  of  which  is  so  sickening  that  we  put  our 
handkerchiefs  to  our  noses  as  we  go  by. 

The  spouting  springs  are  called  geysers.  Some  of  them 
spout  every  year  or  so,  and  others  every  few  minutes.  The 
Grand  Geyser  throws  up  a  volume  of  steam  and  boiling 
water  to  a  height  of  three  hundred  feet,  and  "Old  Faith- 
ful" sends  up  every  hour  an  immense  volume  of  steam 
and  boiling  water  as  high  as  a  church  steeple.  It  keeps 
spouting  for  several  minutes  at  a  tune,  the  water  falling 
back  in  clouds  of  spray. 

Another  wonder  is  the  Yellowstone  Canyon.  The  waters 
of  the  river  here  have  a  fall  of  three  hundred  feet,  or  al- 
most twice  the  height  of  Niagara  Falls.  They  then  flow 
through  a  gorge  whose  walls  are  a  third  of  a  mile  high,  and 
the  rocks  composing  them  are  of  such  colors  that  they 
look  like  precious  stones.  There  are  rocks  as  white  as 
crystal,  others  that  shine  like  amethysts,  and  still  others 
that  glitter  like  diamonds  as  the  sun  strikes  them.  Half- 
way down  the  walls  of  the  canyon  are  ledges  where  eagles 


^^^^^^^^^^| 


r. 


^^±A^yl 


Giant  Geyser  in  eruption,  Yellowstone  Park.   It  throws  a  column  of 
water  and  steam  several  hundred  feet  into  the  air. 

333 


334  NORTH  AMERICA 

have  built  their  nests,  and  if  we  look  carefully  we  may 
perhaps  see  the  young  eagles  in  them. 

There  are  other  features  of  Yellowstone  Park  which 
we  fear  to  mention  lest  our  friends  at  home  may  think 
of  us  as  some  men  did  of  a  preacher  who  described  his 
visit  to  the  park.  His  congregation  listened  quietly  until 
he  told  them  how  he  had  stood  upon  a  rock  beside  Yellow- 
stone Lake  and  caught  a  fish,  and  then,  without  moving 
from  his  place,  had  given  his  fishing  rod  a  twist  and  thrown 
the  fish  still  hanging  to  the  hook  into  a  boiling  spring 
behind  him  and  cooked  it.  As  he  told  this,  one  of  the 
deacons  arose  and  asked  the  pastor  to  stop  then  and  there, 
saying,  "We  have  listened  to-night  to  bigger  stories  than 
we  have  ever  heard  before  in  our  lives,  but  that  last  one  is 
too  much —  too  much ! " 

The  story,  however,  might  have  been  true.  The  waters  of 
Yellowstone  Lake  are  cold  and  filled  with  fine  fish.  Upon 
its  eastern  shore  near  the  edge  of  the  lake  is  a  boiling 
spring,  called  the  Fish  Pot,  and  one  might  stand  there 
and  catch  a  fish  and  easily  cook  it  as  the  parson  described. 

1.  Locate  the  Western  Highland.    What  mountains  bound  it  on 
the  east  and  west?    How  far  does  it  extend  north  and  south?    What 
and  where  is  its  highest  mountain?     Compare  this  mountain  with 
some  other  great  mountains  of  the  world.      (See  page  495.) 

2.  What  are  the  Great  Plains?    Why  are  the  lands  green  along 
the  foothills  of  the  Rockies? 

3.  Where  are  the  Rocky  Mountains?    The  Sierra  Nevada?    Pikes 
Peak?    Compare  Pikes  Peak  with  the  other  high  mountains  of  the 
United  States. 

4.  How  many  great  national  parks  have  we?     Name  some  of 
them  and  tell  for  what  each  is  noted.    Take  a  trip  through  the 
Colorado  Canyon  and  tell  what  you  see.     How  was  the  Canyon 
formed? 

5.  Who  were  the  cliff  dwellers  and  how  did  they  live? 


A  TRIP  THROUGH  A  GOLD  MINE  335 

6.  Where  is  Yosemite  Park?     Yellowstone  Park?     Make  a  visit 
to  the  Yellowstone  and  describe  its  chief  features. 

7.  What  is  a  geyser?     A  volcano?     Have  we  active  volcanoes 
in  our  dominions?    Where?     Describe  Kilauea.     (See   Carpenter's 
"Australia  and  Islands  of  the  Sea.") 

8.  Name  some  kinds  of  game  found  in  the  parks. 


XLVIII.  A  TRIP  THROUGH  A   GOLD   MINE 

FROM  Alaska  southward  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
the  mountains  of  the  Great  Western  Highland  have 
many  veins  and  beds  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper.  In  the 
Sierra  Nevada  range  are  immense  bodies  of  white  quartz 
with  little  veins  of  gold  running  through  them.  There  is 
gold  in  the  sand  of  many  of  the  rivers,  and  it  is  found  in 
the  gravel  beds  high  above  the  streams,  where  the  water 
flowed  ages  ago.  Such  gold  is  called  placer  gold.  It  usu- 
ally lies  near  the  bed  rock,  the  heavy  metal  having  sunk 
to  the  bottom  of  the  sand  and  gravel  as  the  water  flowed 
through.  Gold  mixed  with  the  rock  in  veins  is  known 
as  quartz  gold.  It  occurs  in  a  free  state,  but  generally 
so  finely  divided  that  the  rock  has  to  be  ground  to  powder 
and  chemically  treated  to  get  the  gold  out. 

The  first  gold  of  the  United  States  came  from  the 
Appalachian  Mountains.  A  little  gold  has  been  found  in 
Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and 
Alabama,  but  our  richest  gold  fields  are  upon  this  West- 
ern Highland.  We  have  many  gold  fields  in  Alaska, 
which  we  shall  see  when  we  visit  that  territory,  and  there 
are  others  in  the  Rockies,  and  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  and 
Cascade  ranges  of  our  western  states. 

Up  to  1920  the  United  States  had  produced  four  billion 


336  NORTH  AMERICA 

dollars  worth  of  gold,  and  most  of  this  was  from  these 
western  states.  It  was  in  1846  that  James  Marshall, 
while  digging  a  race  for  a  sawmill  along  the  banks  of  the 
American  River  in  California,  found  some  bits  of  yellow 
metal  which  turned  out  to  be  gold.  The  news  spread,  and 
soon  thousands  of  miners  were  washing  the  dirt  along  the 
banks  of  that  and  other  California  rivers.  In  less  than  a 
year  they  had  dug  up  more  than  five  million  dollars' 
worth  of  gold,  and  within  four  years  more  than  two  hun- 
dred million  dollars'  worth  had  been  washed  out  of  the 
streams  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The  news  went  out  and 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  world  rushed  to  California. 

Then  gold  was  found  in  the  mountains  to  the  eastward, 
and  mining  camps  sprang  up  everywhere.  At  first  the 
miners  washed  out  the  gold-bearing  earth  in  pans.  Then 
they  used  cradles,  or  troughs  which  could  be  rocked  back 
and  forth,  and  later  they  conducted  the  streams  down 
the  mountains  to  the  mines  and  by  hose  threw  the  water 
against  the  sides  of  the  hills  to  wash  down  the  gold-bearing 
gravels.  Huge  dredges  were  invented  for  mining  the  placers 
by  the  aid  of  steam  engines.  They  also  built  flumes,  or 
troughs,  into  which  they  turned  the  streams,  and  threw  in 
the  gravel.  Sticks  were  nailed  across  the  beds  of  the 
troughs,  and  quicksilver  placed  there.  The  water  washed 
away  the  mud,  and  the  grains  and  dust  of  gold  fell  to  the 
bottom.  Quicksilver  dissolves  gold  as  water  does  sugar  or 
salt.  By  and  by  all  the  gold  went  into  the  quicksilver, 
which  was  heated  and  evaporated,  leaving  the  gold  behind. 

A  little  later  the  miners  began  to  hunt  for  the  beds  of 
rock  like  those  from  which  nature  had  washed  this  gravel 
and  placer  gold,  and  to  crush  the  rock  to  get  out  the  metal. 
Such  mining  is  called  quartz  mining.  It  is  from  quartz 
muiing  that  most  of  our  gold  now  comes. 


A  TRIP  THROUGH  A  GOLD  MINE 


337 


But  suppose  we  visit  a  quartz  mine,  and  see  how  the 
precious  ore  is  taken  out  of  the  rock.  We  select  one  not 
far  from  Pikes  Peak.  It  is  high  up  in  the  mountains,  and 
as  we  ride  up  to  it  on  our  donkeys,  we  wonder  how  men 


Gold  mine  near  Cripple  Creek,  Colorado.    The  mining  here  is  all  done 
underground;  the  ore  is  brought  to  the  surface  and  sent  to  a  mill. 

could  tell  that  there  was  any  gold  there.  On  the  way 
we  see  hundreds  of  holes  dug  by  prospectors  who  failed  to 
find  gold,  and  are  told  that  men  often  search  in  vain  for 
years  to  make  new  gold  discoveries.  The  prospector  often 
travels  on  foot  with  his  shovel  and  pick,  his  gun,  and  his 
cooking  utensils,  provisions,  and  blankets  loaded  upon 
a  horse,  or  perhaps  upon  a  burro  not  larger  than  a  Shetland 
pony.  He  sleeps  in  the  open  air  and  shoots  game  to  help 
out  his  food  supply.  As  he  travels  he  looks  carefully  at 
the  rocks,  and  now  and  then  washes  the  gravel  of  the 
streams  to  see  if  he  can  find  "color" — gold  dust  or  grains. 


338  NORTH  AMERICA 

If  he  does  he  follows  the  signs  until  he  reaches  the  mother 
lode  or  rock  from  which  it  was  washed  away. 

At  last  we  come  to  our  mine.  The  large  wooden 
building  above  it  contains  the  steam  engine  and  hoisting 
machinery  to  lift  out  the  cars  of  ore.  This  building  is 
known  as  the  shaft  house.  It  is  right  over  the  entrance 
to  the  mine,  and  the  hole  which  goes  down  into  the  mine 
is  the  shaft.  This  shaft  is  about  eight  feet  square,  and  as 
deep  as  the  Washington  Monument  is  high.  Elevators  are 
always  moving  up  and  down  it  bringing  out  the  rock,  and 
we  can  step  on  one  and  go  down.  The  shaft  is  sunk  be- 
side the  vein  of  gold-bearing  rock,  and  from  it  tunnels  are 
run  off  into  the  vein  to  get  at  the  ore.  Each  tunnel  has 
a  little  railroad  with  steel  cars,  each  of  which  will  hold 
one  or  two  tons  of  rock.  When  a  car  is  filled  and  brought 
to  the  elevator,  a  signal  to  the  engineer  sends  it  to  the 
top. 

A  car  has  just  been  taken  off  as  we  reach  the  shaft  house, 
and  we  start  down  into  the  mine.  Within  a  few  seconds 
we  are  far  below  the  surface.  The  darkness  of  the  shaft  is 
so  dense  we  can  feel  it,  and  we  huddle  together  in  fear. 
We  drop  sixty  feet  before  we  reach  the  first  level.  Here 
we  see  a  score  of  dirty  miners,  each  with  a  candle  on  his 
cap.  The  light  makes  them  ghostlike  against  the  dark- 
ness of  the  tunnel  behind.  They  have  a  carload  of  ore 
which  they  are  waiting  to  send  to  the  top. 

We  now  drop  to  a  second  level,  sixty-five  feet  farther 
down,  and  then  to  another  and  another,  and  at  last,  at 
the  fifth  tunnel,  three  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  below 
the  surface,  we  get  out  and  start  into  the  mine.  The  men 
lend  us  their  candles,  and  as  we  walk  along  the  manager 
points  out  the  vein  containing  the  gold.  It  looks  like  slate, 
and  seems  to  be  a  sandwich  of  slate  between  walls  of  other 


A  TRIP  THROUGH  A  GOLD  MINE  339 

rock  running  slantwise  into  the  earth.  How  deep  it  goes 
no  one  can  tell. 

As  we  go  on  through  the  tunnel  we  see  the  miners  at 
work.  Here  one  is  drilling  a  hole  for  a  blast.  He  uses 
compressed  air,  and  his  steel  drill  goes  chug,  chug,  chug, 
as  it  crushes  a  hole  into  the  rock.  Now  he  lays  aside  his 
tools,  and  takes  up  what  looks  like  a  big  tallow  candle, 
and  sticks  it  into  the  hole.  Notice  how  delicately  he  handles 
that  candle.  It  is  well  he  does,  for  it  is  dynamite,  and 
should  it  go  off  it  would  blow  us  to  pieces.  Sometimes 
gunpowder  is  used.  Now  the  man  is  connecting  a  fuse 
with  the  dynamite.  He  inserts  the  fuse  and  packs  the 
earth  tightly  about  it.  The  manager  tells  him  to  light 
the  fuse  to  show  us  how  the  blasting  is  done.  At  the  same 
time  he  advises  us  to  run.  We  do  so,  and  are  in  a  side 
tunnel  when  the  terrible  explosion  occurs.  The  very  earth 
shakes  and  the  air  blows  out  our  candles,  although  we 
are  hundreds  of  feet  away  from  the  blast.  We  hear  the 
rock  fall,  and  returning  find  the  miners  digging  it  out 
with  picks  and  throwing  it  into  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of 
the  tunnel,  down  which  the  ore  rolls  into  the  cars  in  the 
tunnel  below. 

We  look  at  the  rock  but  can  see  no  signs  of  gold.  It 
seems  just  like  the  stone  we  see  on  the  roadway  or  in  an 
ordinary  quarry.  Still,  each  ton  of  it  contains  from  ten 
to  several  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  pure  gold.  Some  of 
the  ore  is  so  valuable  that  a  half  bushel  sack  of  it  would 
be  worth  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Different  kinds  of  ore  need  different  treatments  to  ex- 
tract the  gold.  The  free  gold  can  be  crushed  and  washed 
out  or  it  can  be  saved  with  quicksilver.  Some  ores  are 
treated  by  chemicals  in  various  ways,  and  much  of  the 
low-grade  ore,  which  contains  only  small  quantities  of 

CARP.  N.  AMER. — 21 


340  NORTH  AMERICA 

gold,  is  sent  to  cyanide  mills.  There  the  ore  is  soaked  in  a 
solution  of  water  and  cyanide  of  potassium,  a  chemical 
that  looks  much  like  alum. 

We  jump  on  the  cars  and  ride  to  the  shaft,  from  which 
we  follow  a  carload  of  rock  to  one  of  these  mills.  The  rock 
averages  only  one  half  ounce  of  gold  to  the  ton,  and  this 
half  ounce  is  distributed  almost  evenly  throughout  the 
carload.  The  ore  of  this  carload  is  low  grade  and  only 
one  atom  in  many,  many  thousand  atoms  of  rock  is  pure 
gold.  The  question  is  how  to  get  the  gold  out. 

We  see  the  ore  thrown  into  the  crushers,  whose  huge 
rollers  grind  it  to  pieces.  It  grows  finer  and  finer,  until  it 
is  all  dust  and  bits  of  rock  no  bigger  than  a  pea.  It  is  now 
ready  for  the  drier,  in  which  gas  flames  are  blown  through 
the  ore  to  take  out  the  moisture.  The  ore  is  then  again 
crushed  and  ground  until  it  becomes  a  dust  almost  as  fine 
as  the  flour  used  for  baking.  We  pick  up  the  flour  dust 
and  rub  it  to  and  fro  in  our  hands.  It  does  not  scratch 
the  skin,  and  we  look  in  vain  for  some  gleam  of  gold.  There 
is  none.  Were  it  the  dust  on  a  roadway  we  should  walk 
over  it  without  thinking,  yet  every  grain  contains  a  minute 
portion  of  gold. 

The  ore  is  now  ready  for  the  cyanide  bath.  We  see 
the  dust  put  into  a  circular  steel  tank  as  high  as  one's 
waist,  and  wider  than  an  ordinary  schoolroom.  When  the 
tank  is  more  than  half  full,  the  cyanide  water  pours  in.  It 
comes  out  of  pipes,  and  looks  like  drinking  water  when  it 
flows  from  the  spigot.  We  are  told  not  to  taste  it,  however, 
for  it  is  a  deadly  poison.  As  the  cyanide  water  flows  through 
the  dust  it  becomes  a  great  pot  of  brown  mush,  seasoned 
with  gold.  The  cyanide  dissolves  the  gold  in  the  rock  and 
it  passes  into  the  fluid,  which  is  then  drawn  off  through  a 
hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  tank. 


A  DAY  IN  A  SILVER  MINE  341 

Another  chemical  process  is  now  necessary  to  get  the 
gold  out  of  the  cyanide  bath.  The  fluid  passes  through 
boxes  filled  with  zinc  shavings;  here  it  takes  up  part  of  the 
zinc  and  drops  the  gold.  The  remaining  mixture  of  zinc 
and  gold  is  then  heated  in  a  furnace  in  such  a  way  that  the 
zinc  passes  off  and  the  gold  only  is  left.  The  result  is  a 
brick  of  bright  gold  purer  than  that  of  a  gold  wedding  ring. 
It  is  now  bullion  and  ready  for  use  in  the  arts  or  for  coinage 
at  the  mint. 

.o>»;oo 


XLIX.  A  DAY  IN  A  SILVER  MINE 

\7ESTERDAY  we  spent  the  day  far  down  in  the  depths 
JL  of  the  earth,  surrounded  by  gold.  To-day  we  shall 
again  go  below  the  surface,  this  time  to  see  silver  mined. 
About  three  fourths  of  all  the  silver  of  the  world  comes 
from  North  America,  and  one  third  of  all  from  the  United 
States.  We  are  now  mining  silver  in  twenty-one  states, 
most  of  which  are  on  this  Western  Highland.  The  best 
producers  are  Montana,  Nevada,  Utah,  Idaho,  Colorado, 
Arizona,  and  California. 

Silver  is  never  mined  in  placers.  It  is  usually  found 
in  combination  with  other  minerals,  and  much  of  our 
product  comes  from  mines  which  produce  also  copper  or 
lead.  The  Comstock  Lode  of  Nevada  has  yielded  silver 
and  gold  worth  several  hundred  million  dollars.  In  the 
Coeur  d'Alene  (kur-da-lan')  mines  of  Idaho  the  silver  is 
mixed  with  lead,  and  about  the  city  of  Butte  (but)  in 
Montana  it  lies  in  ores  loaded  with  copper. 

The  mine  we  shall  visit  to-day  is  situated  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Utah.  Its  ore  contains  both  silver  and  gold,  and 
it  has  already  produced  about  forty  million  dollars'  worth 


342  NORTH  AMERICA 

of  silver.  Connected  with  the  mine  are  enormous  mills 
for  getting  the  metals  out  of  the  rock. 

We  enter  the  mine  by  a  shaft  like  that  in  the  gold  mine 
we  visited,  and  we  walk  through  tunnel  after  tunnel,  with 
great  stopes  or  rooms  on  each  side.  The  mine  has  been 
worked  many  years,  and  at  twenty  different  levels.  At 
the  lowest  tunnel  where  we  go  through,  we  are  hundreds 
of  feet  below  ground.  Indeed,  a  good  idea  of  the  mine 
might  be  had  from  a  big  apartment  house  building,  each 
mine  level  being  considered  a  floor.  The  shaft  is  the  ele- 
vator of  the  apartment  house,  and  the  tunnels  which  run 
off  into  the  vein  are  the  halls.  The  stopes  from  which  the 
ore  has  been  taken  are  the  rooms  and  the  elevator  raises 
and  lowers  the  miners  and  rock  from  story  to  story.  This 
great  mine  apartment  is  lighted  by  electricity,  and  its 
machinery  is  moved  by  electricity  generated  by  the  falls 
of  a  river  near  by. 

The  methods  of  blasting  down  the  silver  rock  and  ex- 
tracting the  ore  are  about  the  same  as  those  in  the  gold 
mine,  but  there  is  an  important  difference  in  the  two  mines, 
which  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  ore.  Our  gold  mine  was 
dry  and  this  mine  is  wet.  All  kinds  of  metals  are  found  hi 
wet  and  dry  mines,  but  the  working  of  a  wet  mine  is  much 
more  difficult. 

In  the  region  where  we  are  now  there  are  underground 
waters  which  force  themselves  into  the  workings,  so  that 
huge  pumps  are  installed,  and  steam  and  electricity  are 
kept  busy  day  and  night  in  carrying  the  water  away.  As 
we  go  through  the  tunnels  the  water  drips  from  the  roof, 
and  as  we  look  down  we  see  that  the  floor  of  the  tunnel 
has  a  torrent  beneath  it.  The  water  is  rushing  along  under 
the  boards  at  the  rate  of  ten  thousand  gallons  a  minute, 
and  the  walls  and  roof  of  th^  tunnel  are  braced  by  timbers 


A  DAY  IN  A  SILVER  MINE 


343 


Drilling  in  a  silver  mine.    The  men  are  making  holes  in  the 
rock  in  which  to  put  dynamite  blasts.    The  drill  is  run  by  com- 
pressed air. 

to  hold  back  the  wet  earth.  The  timbering  of  a  mine  is 
expensive.  The  best  of  wood  is  required,  and  that  used 
here  comes  from  the  forests  of  Oregon,  hundreds  of  miles 
away. 

As  we  go  on  through  the  mine  we  stop  at  a  place  where 
the  blasts  have  just  thrown  out  huge  masses  of  silver- 


344  NORTH  AMERICA 

bearing  ore  and  ask  the  miners  to  show  us  the  vein.  It 
has  an  average  width  of  fifteen  feet,  and  in  some  places  it  is 
forty  feet  wide.  Running  through  it  are  the  dark  streaks 
of  rock  containing  the  silver.  Some  of  these  streaks  are 
so  wide  that  we  can  hardly  reach  across  them.  The  silver 
is  so  mixed  with  the  rock  that  it  does  not  shine  out.  To 
our  eyes  the  ore  seems  nothing  but  stone.  The  only  sign 
of  any  metal  whatever  is  a  bright  glint  of  gold  here  and 
there. 

We  watch  the  miners  loading  the  ore  on  the  cars,  and 
then  follow  it  to  the  surface.  We  see  the  cars  carried 
from  the  shaft  to  the  top  of  a  building  and  the  rock  dropped 
into  a  crusher,  where  it  is  broken  into  bits  no  larger  than 
pebbles.  The  ore  is  now  ready  for  the  drier,  which  is  much 
like  that  in  which  we  saw  the  gold  rock  roasted  for  the 
cyanide  mills.  The  pebbles  are  next  pounded  to  flour 
with  heavy  steel  stamps,  and  the  flour  is  mixed  with  salt 
and  roasted  again  to  prepare  it  for  a  bath  of  quicksilver, 
which,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  will  take  out  the  silver. 

As  we  leave  the  drying  room  we  see  several  piles  of  what 
seems  to  be  fine  sand  lying  on  the  floor  near  the  furnace, 
and  are  tempted  to  jump  into  them.  The  manager  pulls 
us  back  quickly  and  tells  one  of  the  workmen  to  stir  up  a 
pile  with  a  shovel.  He  does  so,  and  we  see  that  only  the 
outside  is  yellow.  Under  the  thin  yellow  coating  the 
roasted  rock  is  red  hot.  Had  we  jumped  in,  our  legs  would 
have  been  burned  to  a  crisp. 

The  process  by  which  the  quicksilver  takes  the  silver 
out  of  the  dust  reminds  one  of  the  prince,  who,  as  the 
fairy  tale  goes,  broke  through  the  hedge  and  kissed  into 
life  the  beautiful  princess  who  had  been  sleeping  there  one 
hundred  years.  It  is  the  quicksilver  prince  whose  kisses 
take  the  sleeping  silver  ore  maiden  out  of  her  palace  of 


A  DAY  IN  A  SILVER  MINE  345 

rock,  in  which  she  has  been  locked  up  for  ages.  The  ore 
dust  containing  the  silver  having  cooled,  it  is  thrown  into 
great  vats  of  steel  and  enough  water  is  turned  in  to  make 
the  whole  a  mass  of  brown  mush.  A  few  pounds  of  quick- 
silver is  then  poured  into  this  mass  through  a  pipe,  and  the 
stirring  machinery  set  at  work  to  mix  the  quicksilver  into 
the  ore.  As  the  mass  is  stirred  the  quicksilver  divides 
into  drops  about  as  big  as  the  point  of  a  pin,  and  these 
thousands  of  little  drops  move  through  the  sand  seeking 
out  the  particles  of  silver.  The  silver  unites  with  them 
and  after  a  time  all  of  it  has  been  taken  out  of  the 
ore. 

The  stirring  is  now  stopped,  and  the  heavy  quicksilver 
runs  down  through  the  ore  and  out  through  a  pipe  into  a 
bucket.  It  is  now  put  into  a  very  hot  furnace,  where  the 
quicksilver  is  driven  out  of  the  mixture  in  the  form  of  a 
vapor  which  flows  off  into  a  pipe,  leaving  the  silver  alone 
in  the  furnace.  The  quicksilver  vapor  is  condensed  by 
passing  cool  water  over  the  pipe,  and,  thus  turned  into  a 
liquid  once  more,  it  can  be  used  over  again. 

The  silver  which  now  lies  in  the  bottom  of  the  furnace 
looks  like  a  piece  of  old  plank  covered  with  ashes.  It  is 
impure  silver  bullion,  and  is  ready  to  be  shipped  to  re- 
fineries in  other  parts  of  the  country.  There,  by  means 
of  chemicals  and  heat,  it  is  further  purified  and  fitted, 
for  manufactures  of  various  kinds,  or  it  may  go  to  the 
mint  and  become  silver  dunes,  quarters,  half  dollars,  or 
dollars. 

There  are  other  methods  of  getting  the  silver  out  of  the 
ore,  and  in  some  cyanide  is  used  as  we  saw  it  in  the  mining 
of  gold.  In  one  process  the  silver  ore  is  put  into  a  bath  of 
molten  lead  in  a  furnace.  In  another  the  silver  is  taken 
out  by  means  of  zinc  and  lead,  the  whole  being  melted  and 


346  NORTH  AMERICA 

refined  in  such  a  way  that  the  pure  silver  is  saved.  A 
different  process  is  sometimes  used  when  the  ore  has  silver 
in  combination  with  copper,  and  in  some  cases  electricity 
is  employed  to  separate  the  gold,  silver,  and  copper. 


L.  A  MOUNTAIN  OF  COPPER 

IS  it  not  wonderful  that  this  dry,  thirsty  region  should 
have  such  great  treasures  locked  up  in  its  rocks?  At 
first  glance  most  of  the  country  seems  absolutely  worth- 
Less,  but  here  and  there  are  places  so  rich  in  minerals  that 
the  land  is  almost  as  valuable  as  that  in  lower  Broadway, 
New  York.  This  is  the  fact  near  Butte,  Montana,  near 
Bisbee,  Arizona,  and  in  Bingham  Canyon,  in  the  high 
mountains  not  far  from  Salt  Lake  in  Utah.  These  places 
have  some  of  the  richest  copper  mines  of  the  world. 

We  shall  first  visit  Butte,  which  is  almost  as  far  above 
the  sea-level  as  the  top  of  Mt.  Washington.  On  the  slopes 
of  the  mountains  about  it  are  great  copper  smelting  fur- 
naces that  day  and  night  for  years  poured  out  fumes  mixed 
with  sulphur,  which  destroyed  the  vegetation.  The  grass 
could  not  grow,  the  flowers  did  not  blossom,  and  the  green 
leaves  dropped  from  the  trees.  The  country  is  dreary 
to-day,  but  it  looks  much  better  since  the  sulphur  in  the 
fumes  has  been  saved  by  new  processes  of  ore  reduction. 

In  the  midst  of  these  surroundings  we  find  a  large  city 
supported  by  the  metals  that  are  being  taken  out  of  the 
rocks.  The  chief  of  these  is  copper,  the  ore  of  which  has 
to  go  through  these  furnaces  in  order  that  the  metals  may 
be  saved. 

We  are  surprised  at  the  size  of  the  reduction  works. 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  COPPER  347 

Some  of  the  chimneys  are  one  third  as  high  as  the  Wash- 
ington Monument,  and  connected  with  them  are  flues  so 
large  that  a  wagonload  of  hay  could  be  driven  through 
one  without  touching  its  walls.  The  flues  supply  the 
drafts  for  the  furnaces.  Inside  the  works  are  huge  boilers, 
and  engines  with  flywheels  as  high  as  a  three-story  house. 
The  power  produced  is  conducted  by  cables  from  place  to 
place  along  the  side  of  the  mountain. 

Entering  the  works,  we  are  deafened  by  the  noise  of  the 
stamps  as  they  fall  upon  the  ore  and  crush  it  to  powder. 
This  becomes  a  mush  which  is  run  over  tables  and  washed 
and  rewashed.  It  passes  through  grinding  machines,  and 
then  goes  to  the  smelter.  Here  it  is  roasted,  filling  the  air 
so  full  of  sulphur  that  as  we  come  near  we  feel  as  though 
hundreds  of  matches  were  being  burned  under  our  noses. 
The  metal  is  extracted  from  the  roasted  ore  by  a  process 
similar  to  that  by  which  iron  is  smelted  in  a  blast  furnace. 

The  metal  is  still  impure  and  is  refined  by  chemical  and 
electrical  processes,  the  gold,  silver,  and  other  metals 
being  separated.  The  final  product  is  pure  copper  such  as 
is  used  for  making  the  wire  which  carries  the  current 
through  our  telephone  and  telegraph  lines. 

Indeed,  the  uses  of  this  red  metal  are  so  many  and  so 
important  that  it  is  of  more  value  to  man  than  either 
silver  or  gold.  Some  copper  is  used  in  every  steamer  and 
railroad  car,  and  in  every  automobile  and  airplane.  It 
forms  the  best  medium  for  the  electric  current,  and  millions 
of  pounds  of  it  are  drawn  out  into  telegraph  and  telephone 
wires,  and  the  cables  for  electric  lighting  and  power  trans- 
mission. The  core  of  the  cables  that  run  under  the  oceans 
from  our  continent  to  other  parts  of  the  world  is  of  copper. 

We  use  millions  of  pounds  of  copper  a  year  in  making 
the  pins  that  fasten  our  clothes,  and  we  have  a  factory  in 


348 


A  MOUNTAIN  OF  COPPER  349 

Connecticut  that  consumes  a  thousand  pounds  in  one 
hour  for  the  eyelets  of  shoes.  Slightly  alloyed  it  is  used 
for  making  copper  cents,  and  mixed  with  zinc  it  forms 
brass.  Copper  is  employed  largely  in  scientific  instru- 
ments and  in  making  munitions.  During  the  World  War 
the  Germans  could  get  but  little  copper  and  they  had  to 
melt  up  their  copper  kitchen  utensils,  the  brass  doorknobs 
of  their  houses,  and  even  the  bells  of  their  churches  to 
(supply  the  needs  of  the  war. 

Of  this  valuable  metal  more  than  half  of  all  that  is  mined 
in  the  world  comes  from  the  United  States^  and  most  of 
this  is  from  the  Great  Western  Highland.  Here  at  Butte 
the  copper  veins  run  below  the  surface  to  the  depth  of 
three  fifths  of  a  mile,  and  at  Bingham  in  Utah  there  is 
enough  ore  in  sight  to  supply  seven  million  tons  a  year 
for  almost  half  a  century.  The  Bingham  mines  are  in 
what  seems  to  be  a  mountain  of  copper  ore.  They  run  in 
terraces  around  the  mountains,  and  the  ore  is  such  that  it 
can  be  taken  out  with  steam  shovels.  We  have  other 
great  copper  deposits  in  Arizona,  Nevada,  New  Mexico, 
in  Michigan  along  Lake  Superior,  and  in  some  of  our 
southern  states. 

We  have  immense  beds  of  copper  in  Alaska,  including 
those  of  the  Kennecott  Mines,  which  lie  high  above  several 
great  glaciers.  The  Kennecott  copper  was  discovered  by 
two  mining  prospectors,  who  saw  a  patch  of  green  high  up 
in  the  mountains.  At  first  they  thought  that  it  was  grass, 
and  that  there  might  be  mountain  sheep  feeding  upon  it. 
They  climbed  up  to  hunt,  and  lo!  it  was  copper  which 
had  been  turned  green  by  the  weather. 

i.  In  what  two  regions  of  the  United  States  is  gold  found?  Where 
are  our  richest  gold  fields?  Tell  the  story  of  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  California. 


350  NORTH  AMERICA 

2.  Give  some  of  the  uses  of  gold.    What  is  gold  bullion?    How 
is  it  made  into  coins?    (See  page  69.) 

3.  What  is  placer  mining?    Make  a  visit  to  a  placer  mine  and 
tell  what  you  see.    How  is  quicksilver  used  in  such  mining? 

4.  What  is  quartz  mining?    Describe  a  quartz  mine.    Follow  the 
ore  to  the  smelter  and  show  how  the  gold  is  taken  out  by  cyanide. 

5.  From  what  part  of  the  world  does  most  of  the  gold  come? 
Compare  our  product  with  that  of  Africa?    With  Australasia.     (See 
page  499.) 

6.  From  what  region  does  most  of  our  silver  come?    How  does  our 
production  of  silver  compare  with  that  of  the  rest  of  the  world? 
Name  the  chief  silver-producing  countries.    (See  page  499.) 

7.  With  what  other  minerals  is  silver  often  combined? 

8.  Visit  a  silver  mine  and  tell  how  the  ore  is  taken  out  of  the  rock. 
Describe  the  process  of  saving  the  metal  by  quicksilver. 

9.  Name  some  of  the  uses  of  silver.    Describe  the  adventures  of 
a  silver  spoon  from  the  mine  to  your  breakfast  table.    Let  the  spoon 
tell  its  story. 

10.  Name  some  of  the  uses  of  copper.     What  part  did  it  play 
in  the  World  War?    What  coins  are  made  of  it?    Why  is  it  used  for 
telephone  and  telegraph  wires? 

11.  From  what  regions  does  most  of  our  copper  come?    Most  of 
the  copper  of  the  world?    (See  page  500). 

12.  What  is  brass?    (For  further  information  about  copper  and 
brass,  see  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Housed,"  pages  182- 
188.) 

13.  Which  is  of  most  value  to  man;  copper,  silver,  or  gold?    Why? 


LI.  ACROSS   THE  WESTERN   PLATEAU 

THERE  are  several  trunk  lines  of  railway  that  cross 
the  United  States  from  the  Mississippi  valley  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  From  Chicago  we  might  have  gone  to  St. 
Paul  and  traveled  westward  over  the  Great  Northern  or 
the  Northern  Pacific  to  Seattle  on  Puget  Sound.  Or  we 
could  have  gone  to  New  Orleans,  and  taken  the  Southern 


ACROSS  THE  WESTERN  PLATEAU  351 

Pacific,  crossing  Texas,  touching  the  Mexican  boundary 
at  El  Paso,  and  going  on  through  the  desert  regions  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona  to  southern  California.  Or  we 
could  have  gone  by  the  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe 
from  Kansas  City  through  Kansas,  Colorado,  New  Mexico, 
and  Arizona,  following  a  route  farther  north  than  the 
Southern  Pacific. 

Among  the  other  important  railways  over  the  Western 
Highland  are  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  and  St.  Paul,  the 
cars  of  which  are  operated  largely  by  electricity,  the  Union 
Pacific,  and  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  and  Western 
Pacific.  Our  trip  from  Omaha  to  Denver  was  on  the 
Union  Pacific.  This  road,  with  the  Central  Pacific,  was 
the  first  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and 
when  it  was  completed  in  1869  it  was  considered  the 
greatest  feat  ever  attempted  in  railway  construction.  Be- 
fore that  the  only  means  of  crossing  the  Western  High- 
land was  on  horseback  or  in  wagons  drawn  by  horses  or 
mules.  The  journey  took  months,  and  men  and  horses 
often  died  of  hunger  and  thirst  before  they  reached  their 
destinations. 

Returning  from  Butte  to  Denver,  we  shall  continue 
our  travels  on  to  Salt  Lake  City  over  the  Denver  and 
Rio  Grande  railway,  which  passes  through  some  of  the  most 
wonderful  scenery  in  the  United  States.  We  travel  south- 
ward along  the  foothills  of  the  Rockies  until  we  reach 
Pueblo  (pweVlo),  where  we  turn  to  the  west.  Our  train 
plunges  through  the  Royal  Gorge,  where  the  walls  of  rock 
rise  above  us  for  more  than  two  thousand  feet,  and  then 
ascends  rapidly  in  the  climb  over  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Now  the  railroad  winds  about  in  great  loops  and  curves; 
now  it  passes  through  canyons  where  the  cliffs  seem  about 
to  fall  down  upon  us,  and,  climbing  always  upward,  it  soon 


352 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Our  train  passes  through  Eagle  Canyon  in  Colorado. 

reaches  Marshall  Pass,  almost  eleven  thousand  feet  above 
sea  level. 

Here  everything  is  dry,  rocky,  and  thirsty,  and  the  air 
is  so  clear  that  we  can  see  for  miles.  It  is  hard  to  breathe, 
and  some  of  us  feel  faint  from  the  rarity  of  the  atmosphere. 
We  ride  for  hours  without  being  out  of  sight  of  snow -clad 
peaks,  and  are  told  that  in  winter  the  snow  falls  in  such 
quantities  that  the  drifts  cover  the  railroad  and  snow- 
plows  have  to  be  pushed  along  by  locomotives  to  clear 
the  tracks.  For  this  reason  miles  of  snowsheds  have  been 
built  over  the  road  along  the  sides  of  the  mountains  to 


ACROSS  THE  WESTERN  PLATEAU  353 

keep  the  snow  from  stopping  the  cars.  As  we  go  through 
these  sheds  we  seem  to  be  passing  through  a  long  tunnel, 
except  that  we  now  and  then  can  peep  out  through  the 
cracks  and  see  thousands  of  feet  down  into  the  valleys 
below. 

The  mountainous  parts  of  the  route  are  thinly  populated. 
Many  of  the  stations  are  little  more  than  section  houses, 
and  some  consist  only  of  a  post  on  which  is  painted  the 
name.  From  such  stations  trails  lead  off  into  the  mining 
districts,  and  we  sometimes  see  long  lines  of  burros,  loaded 
with  powder,  food,  and  other  supplies,  on  their  way  to  the 
gold  and  silver  camps  far  back  in  the  mountains. 

As  we  travel  westward  into  Utah  we  see  herds  of  cattle 
and  flocks  of  sheep  grazing  on  the  plateau.  Utah  has  over 
two  million  sheep,  and  some  other  states  have  more  than 
Utah;  namely,  Wyoming,  Idaho,  Montana,  California, 
New  Mexico,  and  Texas.  The  herders  live  in  covered 
wagons  from  one  year's  end  to  another.  They  are  aided 
by  their  dogs  in  driving  the  sheep  from  place  to  place  to 
search  out  the  best  feeding  grounds.  As  we  see  the  wagons 
standing  out  on  the  plains  with  nothing  but  the  bare  rocks, 
dusty  grass,  and  blue  sky  about  them,  it  seems  to  us  that 
a  herder's  life  must  be  lonesome,  and  we  are  not  sur- 
prised that  one  sometimes  goes  crazy  from  thus  living  all 
alone  in  these  dreary  surroundings. 

At  times  we  pass  prairie-dog  villages,  little  hills  or  mounds 
feach  of  which  has  a  hole  leading  down  into  the  nest  where 
these  tiny  animals  live  with  their  young.  Prairie  dogs  are 
not  real  dogs,  but  small  rodents  about  the  size  of  rabbits. 
We  see  some  of  them  sitting  on  their  hind  legs  on  the  tops 
of  their  mounds  and  watching  the  cars  as  we  go  by.  Others 
are  frightened  and  scamper  into  their  holes.  Such  prairie- 
dog  colonies  are  scattered  over  the  Western  Highland 


354 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  355 

from  Canada  to  Mexico.  They  vary  in  size  from  a  few 
acres  to  thousands  of  square  miles,  and  are  inhabited  by 
thousands  of  animals.  In  Texas  there  is  one  colony  longer 
than  from  New  York  to  Boston  and  wider  than  from 
Philadelphia  to  Baltimore.  It  covers  an  area  half  as  large 
as  the  state  of  New  York,  and  is  said  to  have  more  prairie 
dogs  than  there  are  people  in  the  whole  United  States. 
This  statement  is  based  upon  figures  given  by  Dr.  C. 
Hart  Merriam  of  our  Department  of  Agriculture.  Dr. 
Merriam  says  that  thirty-two  prairie  dogs  eat  as  much 
grass  as  one  sheep,  and  that  the  grass  eaten  by  the  great 
Texas  colony  would  support  more  than  one  million  cattle. 
For  this  reason  the  farmers  are  advised  to  destroy  these 
little  animals. 

We  look  in  vain  for  grizzly  bear,  deer,  and  mountain 
sheep  as  we  ride  through  the  wilder  parts  of  the  plateau. 
Such  animals  are  seldom  seen  near  the  track,  although  a 
short  horseback  ride  from  almost  any  of  the  stations 
would  bring  us  to  places  where  they  could  be  found. 

The  country  grows  more  dreary  as  we  travel  on  west- 
ward, when  all  at  once  we  come  out  of  the  desert  into  the 
valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  made  green  by  irrigation, 
and  soon  reach  Salt  Lake  City,  the  capital  of  Utah. 


LII.  SALT  LAKE  CITY 

HT^HERE  are  few  towns  more  beautifully  situated  than 
-L  Salt  Lake  City.  It  lies  between  the  shore  of  the 
Great  Salt  Lake  and  the  precipitous  wall  of  the  Wasatch 
Mountains,  the  peaks  of  which  are  crowned  with  per- 
petual snow.  Northward  and  southward  as  far  as  one 

CARP.  N.  AMER. — 22 


CO         1-4 

*-<      ,— I 


356 


SALT  LAKE  CITY  357 

can  see  is  a  valley  covered  with  grain  and  sugar-beet 
fields,  meadows,  orchards,  vineyards,  and  gardens.  The 
city  itself  has  wide  streets  shaded  by  great  forest  trees. 
Its  houses  have  beautiful  lawns,  and  along  the  sides  of 
some  streets  flow  streams  of  mountain  water. 

Salt  Lake  City  is  the  most  important  railway  and  com- 
mercial center  of  our  Western  Highland.  It  is  in  the 
heart  of  the  Great  Basin,  and  is  the  distributing  point 
for  a  rich  mining,  stock-raising,  and  fanning  country. 
Near  by  are  some  large  mines,  smelters,  and  metal  re- 
fineries. The  power  for  its  factories  and  for  the  electric 
light  and  street  railway  plants  is  developed  from  the 
waterfalls  in  the  mountains  not  far  away. 

Much  of  Salt  Lake  City  and  the  lands  about  it  belong 
to  the  Mormons,  whose  ancestors  came  here  many  years 
before  the  railroads  were  built.  They  called  themselves 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter  Day  Saints.  It  was 
in  1847  that  one  of  their  prophets,  Brigham  Young,  led 
them  across  the  plains  and  over  the  mountains  to  this 
spot,  which  he  said  was  "  the  Promised  Land."  They 
laid  out  the  city  in  squares  of  ten  acres  each,  and  planned 
the  streets  and  parks  much  as  they  are  to-day. 

At  that  time  the  whole  country  about  the  Great  Salt 
Lake  was  a  desert,  but  the  Mormons  turned  the  mountain 
streams,  which  ran  through  the  valley,  out  over  the  land 
and  thus  changed  the  desert  into  prosperous  farms.  As 
we  travel  onward  we  shall  learn  that  much  of  the  desert 
can  be  irrigated  in  this  way  and  that  if  its  soil  can  only 
have  water  it  makes  the  very  best  fanning  land.  A  large 
part  of  our  sugar-beet  crop  is  produced  on  irrigated  lands, 
and  this  crop  supplies  much  of  our  sugar. 

During  our  stay  in  Salt  Lake  City  we  see  the  Mormon 
Temple,  an  enormous  structure  of  gray  granite,  which 


358  NORTH  AMERICA 

was  about  forty  years  in  building  and  into  which  no  "Gen- 
tile" (non-Mormon)  is  ever  admitted.  We  also  visit  the 
tabernacle,  in  which  the  Mormons  worship  on  Sunday. 
It  seats  eight  thousand  persons,  and  has  at  times  held  as 
many  as  twelve  thousand.  The  building  has  a  roof  like 
the  back  of  a  turtle  and  it  looks  like  an  enormous  bath- 
tub turned  upside  down. 

Taking  automobiles,  we  ride  out  through  the  valley 
to  the  Great  Salt  Lake.  This  lake  is  one  of  the  natural 
wonders  of  the  United  States.  It  is  eighty  miles  long  and 
its  average  width  is  about  thirty  miles.  Streams  of  fresh 
water  are  always  flowing  into  it,  but  it  has  no  outlet,  and 
therefore  its  waters  are  salt.  They  are  six  times  as  salty 
as  the  ocean,  and  are  said  to  contain  six  million  tons  of 
salts  of  one  kind  or  another.  The  lake  is  much  like  the 
Dead  Sea  in  Palestine. 

The  waters  are  so  heavy  with  salt  that  when  we  take  a 
swim  in  the  lake  we  find  we  cannot  possibly  sink.  We 
can  stand  upright  in  the  water,  with  our  heads  and 
shoulders  above  the  surface,  and  bob  up  and  down  like  a 
cork  on  a  fishing  line,  but  try  as  we  may  we  cannot  force 
ourselves  to  the  bottom.  As  we  stand  there  with  our 
arms  folded  gently  floating  about,  we  need  not  be  afraid 
of  the  crabs  biting  our  toes.  One  might  fish  here  for  years 
and  not  get  a  bite;  for  the  only  permanent  animal  inhabi- 
tants are  brine  shrimps  about  as  long  as  the  nail  of  a  child 's 
finger.  There  are  some  birds  on  the  lake,  and  we  see  gulls 
and  pelicans  flying  back  and  forth  to  their  nesting  grounds 
on  some  of  the  islands. 

The  salts  in  the  Great  Salt  Lake  are  not  of  great  value, 
although  they  can  be  cheaply  harvested  by  running  them 
into  ponds  where  the  water  is  evaporated  by  the  rays  of 
the  sun.  The  lake  is  so  far  away  from  our  centers  of  popu- 


IN  UNCLE  SAM'S  OASES  359 

lation  that  transportation  is  costly  and  we  can  get  salt 
more  cheaply  from  other  sources.  The  lake  is  very  shal- 
low, and  the  Southern  Pacific  railway  has  recently  built 
a  track  across  the  middle  of  it,  cutting  off  the  original 
long  detour  around  its  northern  end  (picture  on  page  19). 

1.  Take  a  trip  over  each  of  the  important  trunk  lines  of  the  West- 
ern Highland,  telling  something  of  what  you  see  on  the  way.    Which 
route  is  farthest  north?    Which  farthest  south?    What  is  the  great 
middle  trunk  line?    Which  is  operated  largely  by  electricity? 

2.  What  domestic  animals  are  found  on  the  Western  Highland? 
What  wild  animals?    Tell  what  you  can  about  the  prairie-dog  villages. 

3.  What  is  the  most  important  city  of  our  western  plateau?    Where 
is  it  located,  and  why  has  it  become  such  a  great  commercial  and 
mineral  center? 

4.  Who  were  the  Mormons? 

5.  Describe  your  visit  to  the  Great  Salt  Lake.    Compare  it  with 
the  Dead  Sea.     (See  Carpenter's  "Asia.") 


LIII.  IN  UNCLE  SAM'S  OASES 

WE  shall  take  airplanes  for  our  travels  this  week. 
The  places  we  wish  to  visit  are  so  far  apart  that  it 
would  take  a  month  or  more  to  see  them  all  if  we  traveled 
by  train.  They  are  the  reclamation  works  of  the  United 
States  government,  created  to  irrigate  parts  of  our  great 
desert  region  and  turn  them  into  oases  containing  thousands 
of  farms. 

The  semi-arid  region  of  the  United  States  is  mostly 
in  the  Great  Plains,  and  the  real  desert  is  in  the  Western 
Highland  where  we  are  traveling.  In  most  of  these  places 
the  land  is  fertile  if  it  can  only  have  water.  The  soil  is 
rich  in  plant  food,  and  when  artificially  watered  it  produces 


360  NORTH  AMERICA 

more  abundantly  than  any  part  of  our  country  which  is 
watered  by  rain. 

About  the  beginning  of  this  century  our  scientists  showed 
that  dams  could  be  built  so  that  the  heavy  rains  and  snows 
of  the  mountains  could  be  stored  in  lakes  and  reservoirs 
to  be  let  out  as  needed.  The  matter  was  laid  before  Con- 
gress, and  in  1902  a  law  was  enacted  which  provided  that 
the  money  received  from  the  sale  of  government  lands 
in  the  arid  and  semi-arid  states  should  be  used  to  put 
water  upon  the  dry  lands.  After  that  the  watered  lands 
were  to  be  sold  and  the  money  so  received  was  to  be  used 
to  reclaim  other  tracts. 

There  were  so  many  public  lands  in  the  arid  and  semi- 
arid  states,  and  the  sales  of  the  redeemed  lands  were  so 
great,  that  before  1920  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty 
million  dollars  had  been  spent  in  such  reclamation.  At 
that  time  the  government  had  created  oases  larger  than  all 
the  cultivated  farms  of  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  Connecti- 
cut, Rhode  Island,  and  Delaware.  Farmers  have  settled 
upon  these  oases,  and  the  crops  they  are  now  raising  are 
said  to  be  worth  one  hundred  million  dollars  a  year.  The 
reclaimed  lands  lie  in  all  kinds  of  climate,  from  the  cold 
lands  near  the  Yellowstone  Park  in  Montana  to  the  semi- 
tropical  lands  of  southern  Arizona.  They  produce  all  sorts 
of  crops,  from  the  hardy  wheat  of  the  north  to  the  long- 
staple  cotton  of  the  far  south,  and  all  kinds  of  fruit  from 
apples  and  pears  to  oranges  and  dates. 

In  creating  these  oases  some  of  the  largest  dams  of  the 
world  have  been  built,  rivers  have  been  turned  through  the 
mountains  by  tunnels,  and  so  many  canals  have  been  dug 
that  if  they  could  be  placed  end  to  end  they  would  reach 
three  times  across  the  United  States  from  Cape  Cod  to  the 
Golden  Gate. 


A  date  palm.   This  fruit  is  extensively  grown  in  Arizona  and  southern 

California 

361 


362 


IN  UNCLE  SAM'S  OASES  363 

But  our  airplanes  are  waiting  here  on  the  shores  of  the 
Great  Salt  Lake.  We  climb  in  and  steer  for  the  south. 
We  cross  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Jordan  in  Utah,  pass 
over  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado  in  Arizona,  and 
land  at  the  Roosevelt  Dam  in  the  Salt  River  valley.  Only 
a  few  years  ago  this  region  was  a  desert  almost  as  dry  as 
the  sands  of  Arabia.  Now  the  valley  has  four  towns,  more 
than  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  farms,  and  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four  miles  of  canals.  The  land  is  covered 
with  irrigated  fields  yielding  the  finest  of  raisins,  melons, 
apricots,  peaches,  and  dates,  and  oranges  so  large  and  sweet 
that  they  have  been  called  golden  balls  of  bottled  sunshine. 
In  the  same  region  hundreds  of  baby  ostriches  are  hatched 
every  year.  We  visit  the  ostrich  farms  and  see  the  huge 
birds  sitting  on  their  eggs.  We  are  told  that  the  hen  ostrich 
does  this  work  by  day  and  the  cock  by  night.  Ostriches 
delight  in  the  hot  sun  and  they  grow  fat  upon  the  alfalfa 
and  other  vegetation  of  the  irrigated  lands. 

All  this  has  been  made  possible  by  the  Roosevelt  Dam, 
a  structure  of  sandstone  which  holds  back  one  of  the 
largest  artificial  lakes  of  our  country.  The  dam  extends 
between  the  rock  walls  on  each  side  of  the  Salt  River  can- 
yon, and  is  so  made  that  the  water  can  be  held  in  or  let 
out  as  needed. 

Our  next  trip  is  far  to  the  north.  We  pass  over  great 
irrigation  works  along  the  Colorado  River,  and  see  how 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  have  been  reclaimed  in 
other  places  upon  the  plateau.  We  enter  Wyoming  and 
go  north  to  the  Yellowstone.  Here  near  the  entrance  to 
the  national  park  is  the  Shoshone  (sho-sho'ne)  Dam,  a 
great  wedge  of  concrete  which  blocks  the  entrance  to  the 
canyon  of  the  Shoshone  River.  The  dam  is  twice  as 
high  as  Niagara  Falls,  and  the  lake  which  it  holds  back 


364  NORTH  AMERICA 

irrigates  more  than  three  thousand  farms.  Before  the 
dam  was  built  the  country  about  was  an  uninhabited 
desert.  To-day  it  is  a  fertile  oasis  occupied  by  more  than 
seven  hundred  families  in  three  fast-growing  towns. 

Another  ride  on  our  plane  brings  us  to  the  Pathfinder 
Dam.  This  retains  the  waters  of  the  North  Platte  River  and 
lets  them  out  as  they  are  needed.  The  dam  is  built  of 
granite.  It  is  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  high  and 
six  hundred  feet  long  on  the  top.  It  irrigates  more  than 
two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land.  Other  notable  works 
are  the  Elephant-Butte  Dam,  which  crosses  the  Rio  Grande 
in  New'  Mexico  not  far  from  El  Paso,  and  the  Arrow- 
rock  Dam  near  Boise  (boi'za),  Idaho.  The  first  is  three 
hundred  and  eighteen  feet  high,  and  the  second  has  the 
enormous  height  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-four  feet, 
being  almost  one  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  dome  of 
the  National  Capitol  at  Washington. 

There  are  in  all  twenty-six  of  these  great  government 
reclamation  projects,  which  when  completed  will  irrigate 
more  than  four  million  acres  of  land.  In  addition  many 
tracts  of  desert,  large  and  small,  have  been  reclaimed  by 
states,  by  private  companies,  by  the  farmers  working 
together,  and  by  individuals,  so  that  in  all  more  than  four 
times  as  much  land  has  been  irrigated  by  them  as  by  the 
government  projects.  We  have  now  over  sixteen  million 
acres  in  the  United  States  artificially  watered.  California 
alone  has  more  than  three  million  acres  of  such  land.  In 
every  one  of  our  arid  and  semi-arid  states  there  are  thou- 
sands of  irrigated  farms.  The  same  is  true  in  some  states 
of  the  Mississippi  basin. 

Going  south  into  Mexico  and  north  into  Canada,  we 
shall  find  many  similar  regions.  Irrigation  is  largely  em- 
ployed in  South  America  and  in  Europe  and  Asia.  All  of 


Sage  bush  and  cactus  on  a  desert  before  reclamation. 
365 


366  NORTH  AMERICA 

Egypt  depends  upon  irrigation  for  its  farms,  and  a  part  of 
Australia  is  irrigated.  Indeed  many  of  the  human  race 
get  their  living  from  farms  on  which  rain  seldom  falls. 

The  farmers  of  such  regions  tell  us  they  would  rather 
depend  upon  irrigation  than  upon  rain.  They  know  they 
will  always  have  enough  water,  and  that  they  can  give 
their  crops  just  the  right  amount  at  just  the  right  time. 
Moreover,  they  say  the  land  produces  more  than  when 
watered  by  raki.  In  many  parts  of  the  West  an  irrigated 
patch  of  ten  acres  yields  as  much  money  as  one  hundred 
acres  in  the  rich  Mississippi  valley;  and  in  the  orange 
country  of  southern  California  or  the  irrigated  apple  val- 
leys of  Oregon  and  Washington,  a  tract  of  six  acres  often 
supports  a  whole  family. 

The  irrigated  farms  are  usually  so  small  that  the  whole 
country  is  more  like  a  village  than  like  the  widely  separated 
farm  homes  of  our  central,  southern,  or  eastern  states. 
The  farmhouses  are  near  together,  each  having  ten,  five,  or 
even  fewer  acres  about  it;  so  that  the  people  have  to  walk 
but  a  few  steps  to  talk  to  their  neighbors.  In  some  such 
settlements  the  water  is  piped  to  every  house  and  barn, 
and  in  many  as  the  water  falls  from  the  dams  it  operates 
electric  plants  that  light  the  homes  of  the  farmers  and 
give  them  power  for  farm  machinery.  The  boys  do  not 
have  to  churn  or  saw  wood,  for  the  water  does  the  work 
for  them.  Moreover,  the  little  farms  are  so  near  one 
another  that  the  children  can  come  together  at  school 
and  for  games  much  more  easily  than  in  the  regions  of 
the  large  farms.  We  shall  see  many  such  settlements  in 
the  western  parts  of  our  country. 

i.  Where  are  the  arid  and  semi-arid  regions  of  the  United  States? 
What  is  the  character  of  much  of  the  land  and  why  does  it  not  pro- 
duce crops? 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  STATES— CALIFORNIA      367 

2.  What  is  irrigation?     Mention  some  of  the  great  reclamation 
projects  undertaken  by  our  government.    Make  an  imaginary  visit 
to  one  and  tell  what  you  see. 

3.  Would  you  rather  live  in  an  irrigated  region  or  in  one  watered 
by  rain?    Why? 

4.  Mention  a  country  in  Africa  where  all  the  farms  depend  upon 
irrigation. 


LIV.  THE   PACIFIC   COAST  STATES  — 
CALIFORNIA 

WE  have  come  by  airplane  from  Idaho  across  the 
northern  part  of  the  Western  Plateau  and  have 
traveled  southward  through  the  Pacific  States  to  get  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  country.  The  Pacific  States  are 
Washington,  Oregon,  and  California.  They  are  enormous 
in  size  compared  with  our  states  along  the  Atlantic  coast. 
Washington  is  larger  than  New  England,  and  California 
is  larger  than  the  five  states  between  New  Jersey  and 
Georgia.  Oregon  is  almost  equal  to  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  and  New  Jersey  combined. 

Our  Atlantic  coast  line  is  far  different  from  that  of  the 
Pacific.  It  is  five  hundred  miles  longer,  and  from  the 
Hudson  River  to  Florida  it  is  backed  by  a  low  plain  cut  up 
by  rivers  through  which  the  tide  flows  in  from  the  sea. 
It  is  only  in  New  England  that  the  land  is  comparatively 
high. 

The  Pacific  coast  has  but  few  indentations  except  Puget 
(pu'jet)  Sound,  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  and 
San  Francisco  Bay.  It  is  bordered  by  a  steep  chain  of 
mountains,  and  most  of  its  cultivated  territory  is  in  the 
valleys  between  this  Coast  Range  and  the  Cascades  and 
Sierra  Nevada.  These  valleys  are  famous  for  their  great 


THE  PACIFIC  COAST  STATES— CALIFORNIA      369 

crops  of  grain  and  fruits.  In  Washington  and  Oregon 
are  apple  and  prune  orchards,  and  in  California  grow 
oranges,  lemons,  grapes,  prunes,  almonds,  and  olives  which 
are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 

The  mountains  near  the  west  coast  are  far  higher  than 
those  near  the  east  coast.  The  Sierra  Nevada  is  several 
times  as  high  as  the  Appalachians,  and  California  has  the 
highest  peak  in  the  main  body  of  the  United  States.  This  is 
Mt.  Whitney,  which  kisses  the  sky  almost  a  mile  and  a 
half  above  the  top  of  Mt.  Washington. 

The  climate  of  each  region  is  excellent,  but  very  different 
from  that  of  the  other.  In  the  eastern  part  of  our  country 
there  is  an  abundant  rainfall  throughout  the  year  and  no 
irrigation  is  needed.  The  coast  lands  of  Washington  and 
Oregon  have  much  rain,  mostly  in  the  winter,  but  in  parts 
of  California  there  is  so  little  rain  that  the  cultivated 
lands  have  to  be  irrigated,  while  in  the  far  south  there  are 
terrible  deserts  where  the  land  is  so  barren  that  only  a 
few  animals  such  as  snakes,  lizards,  and  homed  toads 
can  live.  Death  Valley  is  one  of  these  deserts.  Part  of  it 
is  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet  below  the  sea  level  and 
is  the  lowest  point  in  the  United  States. 

We  begin  our  travels  in  southern  California.  In  this 
part  of  our  country  it  is  like  summer  all  the  year  roundr 
Flowers  are  always  in  bloom  and  the  trees  are  always  green. 
Los  Angeles  (los  ang'gel-es)  often  has  rose  festivals  to  cele- 
brate New  Year,  and  on  Christmas  one  can  go  out  and  take 
a  bath  in  the  ocean,  come  back  and  have  Christmas  dinner 
under  the  orange  trees,  and,  in  the  afternoon,  by  a  short 
railroad  ride,  reach  the  snows  on  the  tops  of  the  moun- 
tains and  eat  supper  under  some  of  the  finest  Christmas 
trees  of  the  world. 

Our  trip  makes  us  think  of  Christmas,  for  we  are  almost 


370  NORTH  AMERICA 

always  in  sight  of  some  of  the  things  we  find  in  our  stockings. 
We  travel  through  irrigated  orchards  where  golden  oranges 
and  pale  yellow  lemons  hang  from  the  trees,  and  ride  for 
miles  through  vineyards  of  the  choicest  white  and  blue 
grapes.  Here  we  see  English  walnuts  and  almonds,  and 
there  are  groves  of  olive  trees,  knotty  and  gnarly.  Califor- 
nia makes  the  most  delicious  raisins,  exporting  enough 
in  one  year  to  give  a  pound  to  every  family  in  the  United 
States.  It  has  thousands  of  trees  on  which  prune  plums 
are  grown,  and  it  exports  almost  two  hundred  million 
pounds  of  prunes  in  one  year.  Prunes  are  a  species  of 
plum.  We  find  them  more  delicious  when  just  picked 
than  when  dried  in  the  sun  and  packed  up  for  sale.  We 
shall  have  plenty  of  prunes  also  in  Oregon  when  we  go 
there. 

Have  you  ever  tasted  figs  fresh  from  trees?  They  are 
twice  as  large  as  when  dried  and  pressed  into  boxes.  They 
are  as  sweet  as  honey,  and  are  delicious  with  cream.  The 
fig  grows  so  well  in  California  that  single  trees  often  yield 
a  thousand  pounds  in  one  season. 

During  our  travels  we  stop  now  and  then  to  help  the 
children  gather  walnuts — not  black  walnuts  such  as  we 
find  in  the  eastern  states,  but  the  thin-shelled  English 
walnuts  which  are  sold  everywhere  in  our  grocery  stores. 
The  black  walnut  trees  grow  wild,  but  these  trees  are 
planted  and  cared  for  like  fruit  trees.  They  begin  to 
bear  at  the  end  of  six  years,  but  do  not  come  into  full 
fruiting  until  long  after  that.  When  the  nuts  are  ripe  they 
are  shaken  or  knocked  down  and  then  gathered  to  be  cured 
and  packed  for  shipping. 

Almond  trees  are  raised  in  much  the  same  way.  The 
almond  is  much  like  the  peach  tree,  and  its  flowers  are 
like  peach  blossoms.  The  fruit  is  somewhat  similar  to 


Orange  grove  in  Southern  California. 


Drying  prunes  in  the  sun. 
371 


372  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  peach,  but  the  flesh  is  thin,  hard,  and  leathery;  the 
stone  is  the  almond. 

There  are  more  than  one  million  olive  trees  in  Cali- 
fornia. The  olive  trees  are  first  sprouted  from  cuttings 
in  hothouses  and  then  planted  in  orchards.  They  begin 
to  bear  in  seven  or  eight  years,  and  at  ten  years  a  thrifty 
tree  should  produce  five  gallons  of  olives  a  year,  and  when 
fully  grown  many  times  that.  A  large  part  of  our  pickled 
olives  and  olive  oil  come  from  California,  although  we  im- 
port some  from  Italy  and  Spain. 

More  than  two  thirds  of  the  orange  and  lemon  orchards 
of  the  United  States  are  in  California,  most  of  the  re- 
mainder being  in  Florida.  These  trees  also  are  carefully 
cultivated  and  their  fruit  is  sent  on  cars  and  steamers  to 
all  parts  of  the  world.  Many  trainloads  of  oranges  start 
eastward  in  cold  storage  cars  every  year  over  the  conti- 
nental trunk  lines,  and  many  are  shipped  to  Europe,  while 
some  go  to  far-off  New  Zealand  and  to  Alaska. 

Is  this  not  a  wonderful  state?  Many  kinds  of  vegetation 
thrive  better  here  than  in  the  eastern  part  of  our  country. 
California  grows  some  pumpkins  which  weigh  as  much 
as  a  man,  and  beets  as  heavy  as  a  good-sized  boy.  The 
southern  part  of  the  state  has  elderberry  bushes  with 
trunks  a  foot  thick,  and  at  Pasadena  is  a  celebrated  rose 
tree  upon  which  one  hundred  thousand  blossoms  may  be 
seen  at  one  time.  The  state  raises  also  quantities  of  grain 
and  its  vegetables  and  fruits  are  canned  and  shipped  all 
over  the  world. 

The  biggest  of  all  trees  are  to  be  found  on  the  western 
slope  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  Within  a  short  distance  by 
rail  from  San  Francisco  is  Sequoia  National  Park,  where  are 
trees  more  than  three  fifths  as  high  as  the  Washington 
Monument.  The  "Starr  King,"  for  instance,  is  three 


CALIFORNIA  373 

hundred  and  sixty-six  feet  high,  and  the  ''Mother  of  the 
Forest"  measures  three  hundred  and  fifteen  feet  to  its 
topmost  branch,  while  a  half-dozen  other  trees  rise  three 
hundred  feet  above  ground.  The  trunks  of  some  are  so 
large  that  a  passage  big  enough  for  an  automobile  to  pass 
through  has  been  cut  out  of  them. 

These  big  trees  are  related  to  the  cedars.  They  have  an 
evergreen  foliage  much  like  the  conifers  of  other  parts  of 
our  country,  and  bear  cones  of  small  size.  Their  bark  is 
almost  a  yard  thick.  They  seldom  grow  by  themselves, 
but  among  other  trees,  towering  like  giants  over  those 
below.  They  seem  to  increase  in  size  as  we  come  near  them, 
and  at  last,  when  we  put  our  chins  against  the  bark  and 
look  upward,  their  tops  seem  to  pierce  the  sky,  and  we 
cannot  realize  that  they  were  once  little  sprouts  pushing 
their  way  up  through  the  ground. 

But  that  must  have  been  a  long  time  ago.  Yes;  these 
trees  are  said  to  be  the  oldest  living  things  upon  earth. 
Some  of  them  were  growing  long  before  our  Savior  was 
born.  They  were  more  than  fifteen  hundred  years  old 
when  Columbus  discovered  the  New  World,  and  more 
than  sixteen  hundred  years  old  when  the  first  trees  were 
planted  by  our  forefathers  on  American  soil.  The  biggest 
of  them  are  in  our  National  Parks,  where  they  will  be  kept 
as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  United  States. 

California  has  forests  of  redwood,  the  trees  of  which 
are  often  eighteen  feet  thick,  and  of  sugar  pine,  some  of 
which  are  two  hundred  feet  high.  The  state  has  enough 
forests  to  cover  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  and  in  its  National 
Forest  Reserves  there  are  more  than  eight  million  acres. 

Another  of  California's  wonders  is  the  Yosemite  National 
Park,  which  includes  a  valley  a  mile  deep  and  only  a  half 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 23 


374  NORTH  AMERICA 

mile  wide.  Here  are  the  Yosemite  Falls,  which  leap  from 
the  heights  straight  down  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  then 
six  hundred  feet  lower  in  a  series  of  silvery  cascades.  One 
of  the  falls  is  six  hundred  feet  high.  It  is  known  as  the 
Bridal  Veil.  When  the  wind  blows,  the  water  turns  to  a 
spray,  making  a  fleecy  white  mist,  which  the  sun  sometimes 
transforms  to  a  sheet  of  most  gorgeous  rainbows. 


LV.  LOS  ANGELES  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO 

r  I  ^HE  four  largest  cities  of  our  Pacific  states  are  Los 
JL  Angeles,  San  Francisco,  Portland,  and  Seattle.  All  are 
situated  on  or  near  the  seacoast,  at  the  ends  of  the  railroads 
which  cross  the  continents.  They  all  have  excellent  harbors, 
so  that  goods  can  be  shipped  to  and  from  them  by  sea  as 
well  as  by  land.  From  these  cities  great  steamers  go  out 
almost  daily  to  the  Panama  Canal,  to  Japan,  China,  and 
far-off  Australia,  as  well  as  to  Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  the 
Philippine  Islands.  They  are  the  western  gateways  through 
which  we  pass  back  and  forth  between  our  country  and 
Asia  and  our  possessions  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

We  shall  begin  our  travels  in  Los  Angeles.  The  name 
means  "City  of  the  Angels,"  and  the  people  tell  us  that 
their  climate  is  heavenly.  Los  Angeles  has  neither  winter 
nor  summer.  It  is  in  the  semi-tropics,  and  has  only  a 
wet  and  a  dry  season,  but  even  during  the  wet  season  the 
sun  is  glorious  after  each  rain.  The  city  has  more  than 
three  hundred  days  of  sunshine  during  the  year. 

As  we  ride  through  the  residence  sections  we  seem  to  be 
in  a  botanical  garden.  The  wide  streets  are  shaded  with 
tropical  trees,  including  palms  of  different  varieties.  There 


LOS  ANGELES 


375 


are  also  India  rubber  trees  with  smooth  bark,  pepper  trees 
with  red  berries,  and  orange  trees  with  golden  fruit  shining 
out  of  the  leaves.  There  are  great  hedges  of  geraniums 
and  calla  lilies,  and  in  the  country  about  are  wild  poppies 
as  yellow  as  gold.  Immense  rosebushes,  which  blossom 


©  Brown  Bros. 

Boulevard  in  Los  Angeles.    Notice  the  tropical  foliage. 


all  the  year  round,  are  to  be  seen  everywhere.  At 
dena,  not  far  from  Los  Angeles,  the  people  have  a  "Tourna- 
ment of  Roses"-  each  year,  with  battles  in  which  both  the 
bombs  and  the  bullets  are  flowers.  At  the  same  time  is 
held  a  most  gorgeous  floral  parade. 

There  are  no  finer  roads  anywhere  than  in  southern 
California,  and  we  may  motor  for  miles  out  of  Los  Angeles 
in  every  direction  through  irrigated  vineyards  and  groves 
of  oranges  and  lemons  and  of  walnuts,  almonds,  and  olives. 


376  NORTH  AMERICA 

In  many  places  we  see  men  picking  the  fruit.  We  pass 
motor  trucks  filled  with  it  and  see  long  railway  trains 
carrying  their  cargoes  of  oranges  and  lemons  to  the  east. 
There  are  many  fruit-canning  factories,  and  we  notice 
great  trays  of  raisins  drying  in  the  hot  sun. 

Los  Angeles  is  a  large  and  magnificent  city.  Its  popu- 
lation is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  city  on  the  Pacific 
coast  of  America.  It  has  big  business  buildings  and  many 
of  the  finest  homes  of  the  United  States.  There  are  many 
libraries  and  schools,  and  playgrounds  every  few  blocks. 

During  our  stay  we  ride  down  to  the  harbor  to  greet 
some  friends  from  a  steamer  which  has  just  arrived  from 
the  Panama  Canal,  and  then  take  a  boat  to  Long  Beach 
to  have  a  swim  in  the  sea.  We  visit  an  ostrich  farm  outside 
the  city  and,  coming  back,  take  the  cog  railroad  up  Mount 
Lowe  for  a  view  of  the  country. 

Later  we  go  to  some  of  the  parks  and  buildings  where 
films  for  motion  pictures  are  made.  The  "  movie"  men 
have  us  pose  for  them,  and  we  wonder  what  our  parents 
will  think  when  they  see  us  trotting  out  on  the  screen.  Los 
Angeles  has  many  studios  for  making  motion  pictures, 
and  many  of  the  best  of  the  film  actors  have  their  homes 
here. 

The  water  supply  of  Los  Angeles  comes  from  Owens 
River,  which  is  farther  away  from  Los  Angeles  than  the 
distance  between  Washington  and  New  York.  The  water 
is  brought  down  to  the  city  through  a  huge  aqueduct  of 
stone,  concrete,  and  steel,  which  cuts  its  way  through  the 
mountains  and  over  the  desert,  making  a  drop  of  fifteen 
hundred  feet  on  the  way.  In  making  the  aqueduct  miles 
of  tunnels  and  siphons  had  to  be  built;  for  the  water  moves 
by  gravity  only  and  no  pumping  plants  are  required.  The 
undertaking  cost  more  than  twenty-five  million  dollars. 


LOS  ANGELES 


377 


but  by  it  Los  Angeles  has  all  the  water  it  can  ever  possibly 
need,  and  in  addition  enough  to  irrigate  one  hundred 
thousand  acres  of  farms.  Moreover,  the  fall  is  so  great 
that  it  will  supply  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 


Oil  wells,  Bakersfield,  California.    Much  of  the  oil  from  this  region  is 
used  on  trans-Pacific  steamers. 

horsepower,  and  the  electricity  so  generated  will  light  the 
whole  city  and  run  its  street  cars  and  factories.  We  see 
hundreds  of  oil  wells  not  far  from  Los  Angeles,  and  learn 
that  Los  Angeles  uses  petroleum  for  fuel.  California  is 
one  of  the  chief  oil  states  of  the  Union.  In  some  years  it 
has  produced  enough  to  give  several  barrels  of  petroleum 
to  every  family  in  our  country. 


3?8  NORTH  AMERICA 

Our  next  journey  is  northward  by  train  through  the 
central  valley  of  California  to  San  Francisco.  The  dis- 
tance is  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles,  and  there 
are  grain  fields,  orchards,  and  vineyards  almost  all  the 
way.  It  is  hot  in  the  valley,  but  we  find  San  Francisco 
delightfully  cool.  The  climate  of  this  city  is  such  that 
light  overcoats  and  furs  can  be  worn  the  year  round,  and 
the  breezes  from  the  ocean  put  life  into  one's  veins. 

We  first  take  a  steamer  and  ride  around  in  the  harbor. 
San  Francisco  lies  on  a  peninsula  between  San  Francisco 
Bay  and  the  ocean,  facing  the  Golden  Gate,  which  is  a 
passage  a  mile  or  so  wide  connecting  the  Bay  with  the 
ocean.  The  Bay  covers  more  than  four  hundred  square 
miles  and  it  is  so  protected  that  the  whole  of  it  can  be  used 
as  a  harbor.  The  average  depth  of  the  water  is  more  than 
sixty  feet.  It  is  the  largest  land-locked  harbor  of  the 
world.  The  harbor  front  is  owned  by  the  state,  and  when 
the  present  plans  are  completed,  the  wharves,  docks,  and 
piers  will  be  more  than  fifty  miles  long. 

It  was  this  fine  harbor  that  formed  the  principal  gate- 
way to  the  gold  fields  when  they  were  discovered.  At 
that  time  ships  came  in  bringing  gold  hunters  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  and  San  Francisco  began  to  grow. 
Within  two  years  it  rose  from  a  village  to  a  city  of  twenty- 
five  thousand.  It  has  now  a  population  of  more  than 
a  half  million,  and  its  people  say  it  will  some  day  have 
one  million  or  more.  The  first  of  the  great  railroads  to  .cross 
the  continent  started  eastward  from  here,  and  one  can 
now  go  by  several  trunk  lines  to  almost  any  part  of  the 
Union.  As  we  float  about  in  the  harbor  we  see  steamers 
which  have  just  come  in  from  Yokoha'ma  and  Ko'be, 
Hongkong,  and  Shanghai,  and  we  see  others  starting  out 
for  Honolulu  (hd-no-l66'l(5o),  Auckland,  Sydney,  and 


SAN  FRANCISCO  379 

Melbourne.  The  latter  ships  will  call  at  Samoa  on  their 
way  south  and  leave  passengers  and  freight  for  our  colo- 
nists there.  There  is  also  a  transport  with  many  soldiers 
on  board.  It  is  bound  for  Manila,  and  will  stop  over  a 
day  at  the  Hawaiian  (ha-wl'yan)  Islands. 

Leaving  the  harbor,  we  walk  up  through  the  business 
section,  where  the  skyscrapers  are  so  large  that  they  make 
us  think  of  New  York  and  Chicago,  and  then  ride  on  the 
cable  cars  up  Nob  Hill.  Here  we  see  the  houses  of  million- 
aires who  have  grown  rich  out  of  the  resources  of  this  very 
rich  state,  or  who  have  made  fortunes  in  Alaska  and  in 
the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

During  our  stay  in  San  Francisco  we  look  about  in  vain 
for  signs  of  the  earthquake  and  fire  which  occurred  here 
in  1906.  At  that  time  some  of  the  streets  cracked  wide 
open,  chimneys  tumbled  down,  and  some  large  buildings 
fell  into  ruin.  The  water  mains  were  broken,  and  fires 
could  not  be  put  out.  More  than  four  hundred  people 
were  killed,  and  several  million  dollars'  worth  of  property 
destroyed. 

We  take  a  photograph  of  the  statue  of  Robert  Louis 
Stevenson  in  one  of  the  squares,  and  then  drive  out  to 
Golden  Gate  Park,  which  consists  of  one  thousand  acres  of 
gardens  and  trees  overlooking  the  ocean.  It  has  nine  base- 
ball diamonds,  but  the  teams  we  see  playing  are  so  much 
like  our  own  teams  at  home  that  we  soon  leave  the  ''bleach- 
ers." We  go  on  to  the  Cliff  House  to  watch  the  sea  lions 
sport  about  in  the  water  and  bask  in  the  sun  on  the  rocks. 
Some  of  these  huge  animals  are  twelve  feet  in  length,  and 
weigh  half  a  ton  each.  Their  barking  is  so  loud  that  we 
can  hear  it  above  the  roar  of  the  breakers.  It  makes  us 
think  of  a  hundred  automobiles  all  honking  at  once. 

We  cross  the  Bay  by  the  ferry  to  Oakland,  another  large 


SAN  FRANCISCO  381 

city,  in  which  many  of  the  men  who  do  business  in  San 
Francisco  have  their  homes,  and  from  there  we  go  to  Berke- 
ley to  see  the  University  of  California,  and  later  to  Stan- 
ford, another  great  institution  of  learning. 

Coming  back  to  San  Francisco  and  strolling  about 
through  the  streets,  we  are  surprised  at  the  many  strange 
faces.  The  people  come  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  Most 
of  them  are  Americans,  but  there  are  also  Germans,  Ital- 
ians, Spaniards,  Russians,  and  Jews.  There  are  hundreds 
of  Japanese,  many  of  whom  own  gardens  and  farms  not 
far  from  the  city,  and  there  are  more  Chinese  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  Chinese  have  a  settlement  at  the  foot  of  Nob  Hill, 
which  covers  a  dozen  or  more  city  blocks.  It  is  called 
Chinatown,  and  in  it  are  Chinese  stores,  temples,  and 
houses.  The  signs  of  the  stores  make  us  think  of  the  char- 
acters on  tea  boxes.  Some  of  the  Chinese  wear  the  same 
clothes  as  their  brothers  and  sisters  of  Asia.  The  boys 
have  on  gowns  with  long  sleeves,  and  little  black  caps 
with  buttons  on  top.  Some  of  them  stand  or  sit  on  the 
streets,  and  stare  at  us  with  their  twinkling  almond-shaped 
black  eyes  as  we  go  by. 

1.  Compare  our  Pacific  coastline  with  the  Atlantic  coast.    Which 
is  the  longer?    Why?     Compare  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  Pacific 
with  those  along  the  Atlantic.     Where  do  the  cultivated  lands  of 
each  region  lie?    Name  some  of  the  crops  of  each. 

2.  Compare  the    climate   of   the    two   regions.      Where  on  the 
Pacific  coast  does  the  most  rain  fall?     The  least?    Describe  Death 
Valley. 

3.  Compare  your  own  state  in  size  with  each  of  the  three  Pacific 
coast  states.     Compare  California  in  size  with  the  Atlantic  states. 

4.  What  part  of  California  might  be  called  "Christmas  Land?  " 
Why?     What  fruits  are  raised  there?    Bring  some  of  the  fruits  to 
class  and  let  each  tell  the  story  of  how  it  is  raised.     (For  oranges, 


382  NORTH  AMERICA 

lemons  and  grapefruit,  and  olives,  figs,  and  dates,  see  Carpenter's 
"How  the  World  is  Fed,"  pages  259-287). 

5.  Imagine  a  Christmas  Day  in  Los  Angeles.    What  might  you 
have  to  eat  and  how  could  you  spend  the  day? 

6.  Give  some  idea  of  the  forests  of  California.     What  are  the 
big  trees?    Describe  them. 

7.  Name  the  four  largest  cities  of  the  Pacific  States,  and  compare 
them  in  size  with  the  place  in  which  you  live.     (See  page  494.) 
Give  some  reason  why  each  has  become  great. 

8.  Take  a  trip  through  Los  Angeles  and  tell  what  you  see.    De- 
scribe how  this  city  in  a  semi-arid  region  gets  its  water  supply. 
Where  does  much  of  its  fuel  come  from? 

9.  Where  is  the  Golden  Gate?    Can  you  imagine  a  reason  why 
it  was  so  named? 

10.  Describe  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco.     Give  some  reasons 
why  the  city  has  grown.    Trace  a  shipment  of  canned  fruit  from  San 
Francisco  to  Yokohama.    To  London.    What  is  the  distance  in  each 
case? 

n.  What  people  from  Asia  do  we  see  here?    What  do  you  know 
about  the  Japanese?     The  Chinese?     (See  Carpenter's  "Asia  "). 


LVI.  THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  —  PORTLAND 

WE  have  left  San  Francisco  and  come  north  to  Port- 
land. The  distance  between  the  two  cities  is  greater 
than  between  Philadelphia  and  Detroit,  and  the  way  was 
dry  and  dusty  notwithstanding  our  oil-burning  locomotives. 
We  went  north  through  the  Sacramento  valley,  so  noted  for 
its  crops  that  it  is  called  the  granary  of  California,  and 
spent  a  day  within  sight  of  Mt.  Shasta^-a  snow-capped,  ex- 
tinct volcano,  about  forty  miles  from  the  Oregon  boundary. 
Entering  Oregon,  we  found  the  land  greener,  and  we 
now  and  then  passed  through  forests.  We  went  by  or- 
chards of  prune  plums,  apples,  and  English  walnuts,  and 
saw  many  little  cities  and  towns. 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  —  PORTLAND         383 

We  are  now  in  the  Pacific  Northwest,  composed  of 
Washington  and  Oregon.  These  two  states  have  about 
four  times  as  much  land  as  Virginia  or  twenty  times  as 
much  as  Massachusetts.  They  have  plains,  high  moun- 
tains and  valleys,  lands  almost  desert,  and  some  regions 
where  the  rainfall  is  from  seventy  to  one  hundred  inches 
a  year.  The  Cascade  Mountains,  which  run  north  and 
south  through  them,  divide  the  wet  and  dry  sections. 
To  the  east  lie  the  arid  lands,  much  of  which  have  to  be 
irrigated,  and  in  the  west  are  the  wet  lands  where  the 
rains  give  bountiful  crops. 

Most  of  our  travels  will  be  west  of  the  Cascades.  This 
part  of  our  country  has  a  milder  climate  than  any  other 
in  the  same  latitude.  Oregon  is  warmer  than  Massachu- 
setts, and  the  winters  of  Puget  Sound  are  milder  than  those 
of  Washington,  D.  C.  It  seldom  snows  west  of  the  Cas- 
cades, and  the  winter  climate  of  Portland  is  milder  than 
that  of  Tennessee  or  Kentucky.  Nevertheless  Portland 
is  farther  north  than  St.  Paul,  and  Seattle  is  much  nearer 
the  North  Pole  than  Quebec.  The  reason  for  the  mild 
climate  lies  in  the  winds  from  the  Pacific  Ocean,  which 
blow  over  the  land.  As  the  winds  go  on  to  the  eastward 
they  drop  their  load  of  water,  and  lose  their  heat;  so  that 
the  winters  of  Montana  and  North  Dakota  are  dry  and 
exceedingly  cold. 

Some  of  the  largest  forests  of  the  United  States  are  to 
be  found  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Cascades  in  Washing- 
ton and  Oregon.  The  forests  of  Oregon  are  of  enormous 
extent,  and  in  Washington  so  much  timber  is  being  cut 
each  year  that  if  it  were  all  made  into  boards  an  inch  thick 
there  would  be  enough  to  cover  a  road  eight  feet  wide 
clear  around  the  world.  Washington  is  said  to  have  two 
hundred  billion  feet  of  timber  still  standing.  It  produces 


384  NORTH  AMERICA 

more  annually  than  any  other  state,  with  Louisiana  next 
and  Oregon  third. 

These  woodlands  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  far  surpass 
in  the  extent  of  their  timber  anything  we  have  in  the  East. 
The  chief  tree  is  the  Douglas  fir.  Many  of  these  firs  shoot 
up  as  high  as  a  tall  church  steeple  before  they  put  out  a 
branch,  and  with  the  branches  they  may  perhaps  reach  a 
hundred  feet  higher.  Some  of  the  trees  are  as  big  around 
as  the  Pullman  sleeper  in  which  we  came  north  to  Portland, 
and  the  logs  are  so  heavy  that  a  single  one  often  forms  a 
load  for  a  freight  car.  Now  and  then  a  big  tree  is  hollow, 
and  it  is  said  that  a  Washington  settler  used  such  a  tree  as 
a  house  while  clearing  his  farm.  The  hole  inside  the  tree 
was  twenty-two  feet  in  diameter  and  forty  feet  high. 
He  put  in  a  floor- eight  feet  from  the  ground  and  used  the 
space  under  it  as  a  stable  for  his  horse  and  cow.  He  had 
two  living  floors  above  this,  and  a  knot  hole  formed  his 
chimney. 

Some  of  the  best  timber  of  the  world  comes  from  the 
Pacific  Northwest.  The  logs  are  sawed  into  lumber  and 
shipped  in  giant  rafts  to  the  ocean.  They  are  carried 
across  the  mountains  to  the  Mississippi  basin  by  the 
trainload,  a  single  locomotive  sometimes  hauling  as  much 
as  a  half  million  feet  of  lumber. 

Logging  in  this  western  country  is  different  from  that 
which  we  saw  in  the  South  and  near  the  Great  Lakes. 
There  is  little  or  no  snow  in  the  woods,  and  the  logs  are 
dragged  about  by  steam  engines  and  often  taken  on  cars 
to  the  mills.  They  are  so  heavy  that  they  have  to  be  loaded 
by  cables  of  steel  as  thick  as  a  broom  handle.  Such  a 
cable  pulled  by  steam  engines  will  lift  a  forty-foot  log 
five  feet  in  thickness  and  drop  it  on  the  platform  of  a 
freight  train. 


THE  PACIFIC   NORTHWEST  —  PORTLAND 


385 


Shipping   logs  to  the  mills  in  the   Pacific   Northwest.     Compare 

the  thickness  of  the  log  in  the  foreground  with  the  height  of  the 

man  below  it. 


In  felling  the  trees  the  lumbermen  first  cut  a  gash  so 
large  that  a  man  could  lie  down  in  it,  and  then  they  cut 
through  the  great  trunk  with  a  crosscut  saw  drawn  back 
and  forth  by  a  man  at  each  end.  This  takes  a  short  time, 
and  the  giant  of  the  forest  falls  with  a  crash  to  the  ground. 
The  trunk  is  sawed  into  logs,  which  the  steam  engines  haul 
to  the  railroads  by  cables  and  load  on  the  cars. 

The  Pacific  Northwest  is  one  of  our  richest  farming 
regions.  It  has  many  grain  fields  and  orchards  which  are 
watered  by  rain,  and  thousands  of  others  kept  moist  by 


386  NORTH  AMERICA 

irrigation.  Its  apples  command  the  highest  prices  in 
the  markets  of  South  America  and  Europe,  and  they  are 
sold  on  our  fruit  stands  throughout  the  East. 

We  are  delighted  with  Portland.  The  city  is  like  a  great 
park  of  homes,  gardens,  and  trees,  in  the  center  of  which  are 
the  public  buildings  and  fine  business  structures.  The 
climate  is  so  mild  that  flowers  bloom  both  summer  and 
winter,  and  there  are  so  many  roses  that  the  place  is  called' 
the  "Rose  City."  A  rose  festival  is  held  annually  the  first 
week  in  June.  The  flowers  here  remind  us  of  Pasadena. 

Portland  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  Willam'ette  River,  a 
few  miles  from  where  it  flows  into  the  mighty  Columbia. 
It  is  a  little  more  than  one  hundred  miles  from  the  ocean, 
and  the  Columbia  and  Willamette  are  so  deep  that  large 
ocean  vessels  make  this  one  of  their  ports.  We  see  freight- 
ers from  Japan  and  elsewhere  loaded  with  lumber,  grain, 
and  fruit  for  shipment  abroad. 

During  our  stay  we  take  electric  cars  to  Council  Crest 
for  the  view.  This  place  is  high  above  the  city,  and  as 
we  stand  there  we  can  see  far  and  wide  over  the  rich  Wil- 
lamette valley  with  its  farms  and  orchards.  There  are 
five  extinct  volcanoes  in  sight,  each  of  which  is  crowned 
with  perpetual  snow.  They  are  Mounts  Rainier,  Hood, 
Adams,  Jefferson,  and  St.  Helens. 

As  we  ride  back  to  Portland  the  conductor  tells  us  that 
the  current  which  moves  our  car  is  created  by  waterfalls 
in  the  mountains,  and  that  the  city  has  enough  such  power 
to  run  its  car  lines,  operate  its  factories,  light  all  its  streets, 
and  furnish  light  and  heat  for  many  of  its  houses.  In 
hundreds  of  Portland  homes  all  the  cooking  is  done  by 
electricity. 

Taking  automobiles,  we  motor  for  miles  over  the  famous 
automobile  roads  through  the  gorge  of  the  Columbia 


Portland,  Oregon.    It  is  built  on  hills  rising  from  both  sides  of  the 
Willamette  River.    Mt.  Hood,  sixty  miles  east,  is  seen  in  the  back- 
ground.   Its  lofty  peak  is  always  covered  with  snow. 

387 


388 


NORTH  AMERICA 


In  the  Cascade  Mountains.    The  Columbia  River  highway,  shown 
here,  has  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery  of  the  Far  West. 

River,  going  west  to  the  old  trading  post  of  Astoria  on  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  east  to  the  Dalles  (dalz),  a  distance 
of  about  two  hundred  miles.  We  visit  Columbia  Gorge 
Park,  where  fourteen  thousand  acres  have  been  set  aside 
by  the  government  as  a  national  playground,  and  wish  we 
could  go  south  to  Crater  Lake  Park,  or  take  some  of  the 
many  mountain  climbs  so  popular  in  this  part  of  our  land. 
However,  we  have  time  only  for  a  sail  up  the  Columbia 


THE  PACIFIC  NORTHWEST  —  PORTLAND 


389 


River  to  see  salmon  caught.  The  Pacific  Northwest  has 
one  of  the  famous  fishing  grounds  of  the  world.  The 
waters  of  this  part  of  the  ocean  abound  in  salmon,  which 
come  up  the  rivers  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  and  are 
caught  in  such  great  quantities  that  they  are  shipped  all 
over  the  world.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  pounds  of  them 
are  put  up  in  cans,  and  in  this  shape  may  be  bought  in  al- 
most any  grocery  store.  Immense  quantities  are  frozen 
whole  _and  sent  to  the  East  in  cold  storage  cars,  so  that 
one  can  have  a  fresh  salmon  from  Washington,  Oregon,  or 
Alaska,  in  almost  any  American  city. 

The  salmon  served  on  the  boat  which  takes  us  up  the 
Columbia  is  fresh  from  the  water.  It  is  cut  into  great 
slices  and  brought  smoking  hot  to  the  table  as  salmon 
steaks.  It  seems  to  us  we  have  never  tasted  salmon  before. 

Salmon  spend  most  of  their  lives  in  the  ocean,  but  they 
are  hatched  in  the  fresh- water  streams  of  the  land.  They 


Drying  salmon  nets  at  a  cannery  on  the  Columbia  River. 


CARP.    N.    AMER. — 24 


3QO  NORTH  AMERICA 

spend  their  babyhood  there,  and  then  go  out  to  sea,  where 
they  live  three  or  four  years,  and  then  swim  back  to  the 
places  where  they  were  hatched  to  lay  their  eggs  and  to  die. 
When  they  come  in  from  the  sea  the  salmon  move  in 
great  schools,  filling  the  smaller  streams  and  often  the 
rivers.  They  are  caught  in  nets  and  traps,  and  sometimes 
in  fish  wheels  so  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  boat  that  the 
wheel  is  turned  by  the  current.  Wire  nets  are  attached 
to  the  rim  of  the  wheel,  and  the  fish  rush  into  the  nets 
and  are  lifted  up  by  the  current  which  keeps  the  wheel 
moving.  As  the  wheel  turns  the  salmon  slide  off  into  a 
trough  on  the  boat.  Such  fishing  may  be  seen  in  many 
places  in  the  Pacific  Northwest.  It  is  common  also  in 
the  streams  of  British  Columbia,  and  even  in  the  Yukon 
and  other  rivers  of  Alaska. 


LVII.  PUGET  SOUND  AND  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE 

WE  have  returned  to  Portland,  taken  the  train,  and 
ridden  a  day  northward  to  Seattle  on  Puget  Sound. 
We  are  now  on  a  great  inlet  from  the  ocean,  so  beautiful 
that  it  is  sometimes  called  the  American  Mediterranean. 
The  sound  covers  an  area  about  twice  the  size  of  Rhode 
Island,  and  its  shores  wind  about  to  such  an  extent  that 
if  they  were  stretched  out  in  one  line  they  would  reach 
farther  than  from  here  to  Los  Angeles.  There  are  many 
beautiful  islands  in  the  Sound,  and  some  of  the  finest  snow- 
capped mountains  of  the  United  States  look  down  upon  it. 
It  has  a  mild  climate,  and  the  rains  are  so  frequent  that 
during  most  of  the  year  the  land  all  about  is  covered  with 
green. 


PUGET  SOUND  39 1 

The  waters  of  Puget  Sound  are  so  deep  that  ocean 
steamers  can  anchor  almost  anywhere  in  it.  It  has  many 
fine  harbors,  and  Seattle  is  so  favored  as  to  seagoing  and 
shipping  arrangements  that  it  has  become  the  chief  port 
of  the  Pacific  Northwest.  It  has  an  immense  water  front, 
and  this  is  connected  by  a  ship  canal  with  Lake  Washing- 
ton, at  the  east  of  the  city.  Steamers  can  pass  through 
the  locks  into  the  lake  and  have  safe  anchorage  there. 
This  enables  them  to  get  rid  of  the  barnacles,  little  shell- 
fish which  attach  themselves  to  the  hulls  of  ocean  vessels 
in  such  numbers  that  they  often  greatly  reduce  their  speed. 
These  barnacles  cannot  live  in  fresh  water,  and  after  a 
short  while  in  the  lake  the  steamers  are  clean. 

The  railway  facilities  of  Seattle  are  equal  to  those  af- 
forded by  steamships.  The  Great  Northern,  the  Northern 
Pacific,  and  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  and  St.  Paul  con- 
nect it  with  the  east,  and  a  branch  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  connects  it  with  Canada. 

The  harbor  of  Seattle  is  filled  with  shipping  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  As  we  walk  along  the  wharves  we 
see  men  unloading  raw  silk  and  tea  from  Yokohama  and 
Shanghai,  jute  from  Calcutta,  hides  and  furs  from  Siberia, 
hemp  from  Manila,  and  rubber  from  Singapore  and  Ceylon. 
Among  the  principal  exports  is  fish,  for  Seattle  is  the  chief 
fish  market  of  the  Pacific  Coast  fleet.  Its  vessels  go  far 
and  wide  over  the  ocean,  and  many  bring  in  cargoes  of 
fish  from  southern  Alaska.  More  than  twenty-seven 
thousand  tons  of  salmon,  cod,  and  herring  are  shipped  away 
in  one  year,  as  well  as  a  large  amount  of  halibut.  The 
canned  salmon  annually  exported  is  enough  to  give  five 
cans  to  every  family  in  the  United  States  and  have  some  to 
spare.  It  goes  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 

We  have  a  fine  lesson  in  geography  by  trying  to  follow 


PUGET  SOUND  393 

the  shipments  to  the  places  to  which  the  officials  of  the 
port  tell  us  they  go.  In  one  year  Seattle  sent  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  canned  salmon  to  Hong- 
kong; more  than  a  half  million  pounds  to  Africa,  and  three 
hundred  thousand  pounds  to  far-away  India.  It  exported 
three  fourths  of  a  million  pounds  to  Mexico,  sixty  thou- 
sand pounds  to  Aden,  Arabia,  and  about  five  million 
pounds  to  the  Philippine  Islands.  Europe  took  an  im- 
mense quantity,  and  more  than  one  million  pounds  went 
to  Australia. 

The  lumber  exports  of  Seattle  annually  amount  to  tens 
of  millions  of  feet.  They  go  to  South  America,  Australia, 
Asia,  and  Europe,  and  to  the  Hawaiian  and  Philippine 
Islands.  More  than  eighty  thousand  carloads  are  shipped 
from  here  over  the  railroads  to  the  east.  Join  these  cars 
together,  giving  fifty  feet  to  each  car,  and  they  would  make 
a  solid  lumber  train  as  long  as  from  Louisville  to  New 
Orleans.  Among  the  chief  lumber  shipments  are  red  cedar 
shingles.  About  two  thirds  of  all  the  wood  shingles  of  the 
United  States  come  from  here. 

We  are  surprised  at  the  beauty  of  Seattle.  The  city  is 
so  surrounded  by  water,  that  one  is  almost  always  in  sight 
of  the  sea.  A  stream,  or  a  beautiful  lake,  and  the  snow- 
capped peaks  of  the  Olympic  and  other  high  mountains, 
are  always  in  view. 

Within  a  day's  journey  is  Mt.  Rainier,  which  is  three 
hundred  feet  higher  than  Pikes  Peak,  and  has  fifty  thou- 
sand acres  of  glaciers  upon  it.  To  the  north  is  Mt.  Baker, 
which  has  seven  great  glaciers,  and  to  the  northeast  is  a 
white  sugar  loaf  known  as  Glacier  Peak,  with  several 
glaciers  flowing  down  from  its  snows. 

Leaving  Seattle,  a  motor-car  ride  of  an  hour  or  so  takes 
us  to  Taco'ma,  another  fine  ocean  port  on  the  Sound.  It 


394 


PUGET  SOUND  AND  THE  INLAND  EMPIRE      395 

is  not  so  large  as  Seattle,  but  it  is  quite  as  beautiful  and 
has  equally  good  railway  and  shipping  facilities.  It  is  the 
chief  grain  and  fruit  port  of  this  region. 

Tacoma  is  a  large  manufacturing  center,  largely  because 
of  its  cheap  electric  power  from  the  Snoqual'mie  Falls  and 
other  waters  of  the  Cascades  near  by.  The  Snoqualmie 
Falls  are  almost  twice  as  high  as  Niagara.  They  furnish 
thousands  of  horsepower  of  electricity  which  is  carried  by 
cables  more  than  forty  miles  to  the  consumers.  Addi- 
tional energy  is  supplied  by  other  falls  in  the  mountains, 
and  there  is  so  much  water  power  within  easy  reach  of 
the  two  cities  that  the  people  tell  us  they  will  some  day 
have  enough  for  all  sorts  of  industries. 

The  mountains  of  our  Pacific  slope  are  unsurpassed  in 
their  store  of  white  coal,  as  water  power  is  sometimes 
called.  Much  of  the  work  in  California  is  done  by  elec- 
tricity generated  by  such  power,  and  there  is  so  much  avail- 
able in  Oregon  and  Washington  that  the  two  states  could 
create,  it  is  estimated,  a  greater  horsepower  than  all  the 
water  from  the  Great  Lakes  which  drops  down  at  Niagara. 
The  possible  amount  is  estimated  at  more  than  seven  mil- 
lion horse-power.  One  fourth  of  all  the  water  power  of 
the  United  States  is  to  be  found  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

But  let  us  take  the  train  and  go  to  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Cascade  Mountains  to  see  something  of  the  semi-arid 
part  of  the  Pacific  Northwest.  Beyond  the  Cascades  is  a 
vast  tract  known  as  the  Inland  Empire,  comprising  eastern 
Washington  and  Oregon  and  a  part  of  northern  Idaho. 
This  tract  equals  in  extent  all  of  New  England,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  combined. 

This  great  territory  was  once  deeply  covered  with  lava, 
the  surface  of  which  has  broken  down  into  a  rich  soil.  It 
was  long  supposed  to  be  too  dry  for  farming,  but  it  has 


396  NORTH  AMERICA 

been  found  to  grow  excellent  wheat,  and  it  now  produces  grain 
by  the  millions  of  bushels  a  year.  There  are  many  fine 
orchards  and  in  the  valleys  are  large  tracts  of  irrigated  land. 
Spokane  (spo-kan')  is  the  commercial  capital  of  the 
Inland  Empire.  It  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  Spokane  River, 
which  rushes  through  the  city  in  a  gorge,  dashing  down 
in  fall  after  fall  for  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  feet.  The  waters  boil  and  foam  as  they  drop  from 
level  to  level,  sending  up  a  silvery  spray.  They  furnish 
a  great  water  power,  and  to  take  advantage  of  this  the 
people  have  put  in  huge  pipes  through  which  the  water 
falls  upon  turbines,  thus  generating  the  electricity  which  not 
only  lights  the  city  and  operates  its  mills  and  factories, 
but  is  also  sent  far  out  into  the  country. 

1.  What  states  compose  our  Pacific  Northwest?     Compare  each 
with  your  own  state  in  size  and  character. 

2.  Why  are  the  winters  of  Washington  mild  and  those  of  Montana 
and  North  Dakota  bitterly  cold? 

3.  Where  are  the  chief  forests  of  the  Pacific  Northwest  found? 
Why?    Visit  a  lumber  camp  and  tell  what  you  see.    Trace  a  cargo 
of  lumber  from  Portland  by  two  routes  to  Buenos  Aires.     From 
Seattle  to  Yokohama.    To  Shanghai. 

4.  Visit  Portland  and  show  why  it  has  become  a  rich  city.    For 
what  flower  is  it  noted? 

5.  What  fish  do  we  find  in  large  quantities  in  the  Pacific  North- 
west?   Tell  the  life  history  of  one  of  them.    (See  Carpenter's  "How 
the  World  is  Fed,"  pages  163-170.) 

6.  Locate  Puget  Sound.    Why  is  it  sometimes  called  the  "Ameri- 
can Mediterranean?  "    What    are   the  two   chief   cities  upon  it? 
Which  is  the  larger? 

7.  What  advantage  to  an  ocean  port  is  a  fresh  water  lake  with 
which  it  is  connected? 

8.  Mention  some  of  the  imports  and  exports  of  Seattle,  telling 
from  what  place  they  come  and  to  what  place  they  go. 

9.  What  is  the  Inland  Empire?    Describe  its  chief  city,  and  some 
of  its  products. 


AMONG  THE  INDIANS  397 

LVIII.  AMONG  THE  INDIANS 

WE  have  seen  many  Indians  in  our  travels  west  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  especially  in  the  Plateau  and 
Pacific  States.  When  we  were  crossing  the  Western  High- 
land by  train  the  Indians  came  to  the  stations  to  sell  us 
pottery  and  baskets,  and  purses  and  moccasins  made  of 
skins  embroidered  with  beads.  In  the  Southwest  we  saw 
the  homes  of  the  ancient  cliffdwellers.  In  that  part  of  the 
country  some  Indians  still  live  in  houses  built  one  on 
top  of  another,  so  that  they  climb  on  ladders  from  house 
to  house.  The  roofs  of  the  lower  houses  form  the  play- 
grounds for  the  children  above,  and  the  dogs  as  well  as  the 
children  climb  up  and  down  the  stone  steps  and  ladders 
from  roof  to  roof.  These  are  the  homes  of  the  Pueblo 
Indians,  who  are  in  many  ways  civilized.  They  cultivate 
farms  on  the  lowlands,  have  orchards  surrounded  by  stone 
walls,  and  raise  watermelons,  cantaloupes,  corn,  beans,  and 
pumpkins.  Some  of  the  tribes  make  beautiful  blankets  and 
baskets  which  are  sold  for  high  prices  in  many  of  our 
stores. 

Among  the  Pueblo  Indians  are  the  Hopi  (ho'pe)  of  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  who  are  good  farmers  and  weavers. 
They  have  always  had  towns  built  high  up  on  bluffs  in 
order  to  be  safe  from  wild  animals  and  to  protect  them- 
selves from  their  enemies.  They  have  no  enemies  now, 
but  some  of  them  still  continue  this  practice.  The  Hopi 
have  many  masked  dances,  including  the  snake  dance, 
during  which  they  carry  live  rattlesnakes  around  in  their 
mouths. 

There  are  many  Nav'aho  Indians  in  Arizona,  New 
Mexico,  and  Utah.  They  have  round  huts  made  of  poles 
covered  with  earth,  with  holes  in  the  tops  for  chimneys. 


398  NORTH  AMERICA 

They  weave  beautiful  blankets,  some  of  which  sell  for 
several  hundred  dollars  apiece. 

There  are  more  than  thirty  thousand  Indians  in  Arizona, 
about  twenty  thousand  in  New  Mexico,  seventeen  thousand 
in  California,  sixteen  thousand  in  South  Dakota,  and 
twelve  thousand  in  North  Carolina.  Oklahoma,  which 
was  once  known  as  the  Indian  Territory,  has  about  sixty 
thousand  Indians,  much  of  the  land  having  been  set  aside 
for  the  five  civilized  tribes.  There  are  red  men  scattered 
over  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  many  on  tracts  re- 
served for  them  by  the  government,  some  on  lands  which 
they  own  individually,  and  others  employed  in  various  ways. 
During  the  World  War  we  had  Indian  scouts  with  the  army 
in  France,  and  among  our  trained  nurses  were  three  Indian 
girls.  We  can  get  an  Indian  scout  almost  anywhere  in  the 
Rockies  if  we  wish  to  go  hunting  or  fishing,  and  if  we  do  we 
shall  not  be  surprised  to  hear  him  speak  English  and  learn 
that  he  went  to  school  as  we  do. 

Our  government  has  established  many  schools  for  the 
Indians,  and  we  have  now  about  fifty  thousand  young 
redskins  going  to  school.  If  we  should  visit  Oklahoma  we 
should  find  that  some  of  the  Indian  boys  and  girls  stand 
quite  as  high  in  their  studies  as  do  the  white  children. 
Some  of  the  men  have  fine  farms  and  their  boys  have 
their  own  pig  clubs  and  baby  beef  clubs  and  corn  clubs. 

The  Indian  school  children  dress  much  as  we  do.  In 
fact,  the  Indian  who  wore  feathers  in  his  hair  and  was 
dad  only  in  skins  has  long  since  passed  away.  On  many 
of  the  reservations  the  babies  are  still  kept  in  bags  of  skin 
covered  with  beads  and  arranged  in  such  a  way  that  a 
mother  can  carry  her  baby  about  on  her  back,  and  the 
Indians  still  wear  blankets  over  their  clothes.  Both  men 
and  women  wear  their  hair  long,  the  men  sometimes  gath- 


Pueblo  Indian  woman  and  daughter.  These  people  are  skilled  in 
making  pottery  and  weaving  baskets  and  blankets.  The  woman 
here  is  engaged  in  weaving  a  basket.  In  the  foreground  is  a  pile 
of  corn,  one  of  the  chief  foods  of  these  people.  It  is  ground  into 
meal  between  stones. 


399 


40O 


NORTH  AMERICA 


ering  it  into  two  great  braids  at  the  front,  but  as  a  rule  the 
Indians  dress  like  the  whites,  and  they  are  fast  coming 

to  live  in  much  the 
same  way. 

In  Oklahoma,  the 
Cherokees',  Chicka- 
saws,  Choctaws, 
Creeks,  and  Sem'i- 
noles,  who  were 
called  the  five  civil- 
ized tribes,  have  had 
their  reservations  di- 
vided among  them 
so  that  each  member 
of  the  tribes  received 
a  large  amount  of 
land.  Many  of 
them  have  beautiful 
houses  and  prosper- 
ous farms.  Some  of 
them  have  made  for- 
tunes out  of  the  oil 
found  on  their  lands, 
and  others  have  grown  rich  in  different  ways.  These 
people  have  schools  and  churches.  They  are  among  the 
Indians  who  vote,  and  not  long  ago  we  had  an  Indian 
who  was  Registrar  of  the  Treasury,  and  whose  name 
appeared  on  every  bank  note  and  Liberty  Bond. 

But  who  are  these  people  and  where  did  they  come  from? 
We  know  that  they  have  copper-colored  skins,  and  that 
they  are  called  the  Red  Race.  They  have  high  cheek 
bones,  straight  noses,  black  eyes,  and  coarse  black  hair. 
Both  men  and  women  part  their  hair  in  the  middle. 


Indian   babies,   or  papooses.     They   are 

carried    in   these   baskets    slung   on   the 

mother's  back. 


Ruins  of  Cliff  Palace,  in  Mesa  Verde  National   Park,  Colorado, 

once  the  home  of  prehistoric  cliffdwelling  Indians.    It  is  built  of 

cut  stone  held  together  by  mortar,  and  contained  200  rooms. 

401 


402  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  features  of  many  of  the  Indians  are  much  like  those 
of  the  Mongolians  that  one  sees  in  north  China  and  Si- 
beria. For  that  reason  it  is  supposed  that  they  came 
from  Asia  across  Bering  Strait  ages  ago  and  settled  in 
North  and  South  America.  The  Indians  were  the  only 
people  who  inhabited  the  New  World  when  Columbus 
made  his  great  discovery,  and  it  has  been  estimated  that 
there  were  at  that  time  about  half  a  million  Indians  north 
of  the  Mexican  boundary,  most  of  whom  lived  in  the  United 
States.  Now  we  have  less  than  three  hundred  thousand, 
including  those  in  Alaska,  and  there  are  only  about  one 
hundred  thousand  in  Canada. 

The  Indians  of  the  past  were  of  many  tribes,  with  dif- 
ferent languages,  customs,  and  means  of  existence.  In 
the  great  forests  of  the  East,  they  were  hardy  and  warlike, 
living  almost  altogether  by  hunting  and  fishing,  although 
some  had  small  patches  of  corn  and  tobacco,  and  others 
made  use  of  wild  rice  as  food.  In  the  southeastern  part  of 
the  country,  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Indians 
had  permanent  villages.  They  cultivated  farms,  made 
pottery,  wove  cloth,  and  knitted  cloaks  of  turkey  feathers. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  our  country  many  of  the 
Indians  engaged  in  agriculture,  and  on  the  plateau  they 
lived  largely  by  fishing  and  by  hunting  the  buffalo  and 
other  wild  animals. 

The  ancient  California  Indians  of  our  Far  West  were 
skilled  in  making  baskets  and  pottery  as  they  are  now,  and 
along  the  North  Pacific  coast,  where  there  was  plenty  of 
wood,  the  Indians  made  their  houses  of  split  planks,  and  had 
dishes,  bowls,  and  spoons  of  wood.  Most  of  these  Indians 
live  in  plank  houses  to-day.  They  are  excellent  fishermen, 
and  are  skilled  in  handling  canoes  and  boats  of  all  kinds. 
We  shall  meet  many  of  them  during  our  trip  to  Alaska. 


AN  AIRPLANE  FLIGHT  THROUGH  ALASKA       403 

1.  What  race  inhabited  North  America  when  the  New  World 
was  discovered?    How  many  people  of  this  race  then  lived  north  of 
our  Mexican  boundary?    About  how  many  live  there  now? 

2.  Find  out  all  you  can  about  the  customs  of  the  Indians  before 
America  was  settled.    How  do  many  of  them  live  now? 

3.  Name  the  five  civilized  tribes.    In  what  state  are  most  of  these 
Indians  to  be  found? 


LIX.  AN  AIRPLANE  FLIGHT  THROUGH  ALASKA 

WE  have  come  back  to  Seattle  by  train  and  are  now 
high  up  in  the  air  in  a  fleet  of  airplanes  flying  north 
to  Alaska.  The  territory  is  so  large  and  so  full  of  strange 
things  that  we  have  not  time  to  explore  it  all  during  this 
journey. 

As  we  look  at  Alaska  on  the  map,  it  is  hard  to  realize 
that  the  territory  has  an  area  of  almost  six  hundred  thou- 
sand square  miles.  It  is  one  third  larger  than  all  of  our 
country  north  of  Tennessee  and  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  From  north  to  south  it  is  about  as  long  as  from 
Canada  to  Mexico;  and  from  east  to  west  so  long  that  if 
the  whole  territory  could  be  lifted  up  and  dropped  down 
upon  the  United  States  with  the  easternmost  point  touching 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  Savannah,  the  westernmost  point 
would  be  at  Los  Angeles  on  the  Pacific.  The  Aleutian 
(a-lu'shan)  Islands,  which  are  a  part  of  Alaska,  extend 
almost  to  Japan,  and  Bering  Strait  is  so  narrow  that  we 
can  fly  from  North  America  to  Asia  and  back  in  about 
twenty-five  minutes.  The  distance  is  forty  miles. 

The  Alaskan  coastline  with  its  windings  is  longer  than 
the  distance  around  the  world  at  the  equator,  and  if  the 
navigable  rivers  were  stretched  out  end  to  end,  they  would 
reach  several  thousand  miles.  The  Yukon  River  is  fifth 


404 


AN  AIRPLANE  FLIGHT  THROUGH  ALASKA       405 

in  size  on  the  North  American  continent,  and  on  the  Kus'- 
kokwim,  to  the  south  of  it,  small  steamers  can  go  into  the 
interior  as  far  as  from  New  York  to  Cleveland,  The  Xanana 
(ta-na-na/)  River  is  navigable  from  the  Yukon  to  Fairbanks 
at  the  head  of  the  government  railway.  Another  tributary, 
the  Porcupine,  gives  access  by  boat  far  to  the  northeast,  and 
miners  go  in  small  steamers  far  up  the  Koyukuk  (ko-yoo'- 
kd6k)  to  wash  out  gold  from  its  sands. 

This  land  is  one  of  magnificent  scenery.  It  has  the  high- 
est mountains  of  the  North  American  continent,  glaciers 
which  surpass  in  extent  any  in  Europe  or  Asia,  and  enormous 
volcanoes,  such  as  Katmai,  which  recently  sent  forth 
clouds  of  ashes  that  darkened  the  sky  and  coated  the 
country  about  with  such  a  thick  covering  that  the  land 
seemed  to  be  covered  with  snow.  Alaska  has  great  valleys, 
some  of  which  have  thick  woods  filled  with  deer,  bear, 
and  moose;  mossy  tundras  upon  which  reindeer  feed;  and 
cold,  dry  plains  many  miles  in  extent. 

The  country  is  one  of  many  climates.  Along  the  coast 
of  southeastern  Alaska,  because  of  the  warm  winds  from 
the  ocean,  the  winters  are  no  colder  than  those  of  Virginia, 
and  in  Juneau  (joo'no),  the  capital,  the  weather  is  as  mild 
as  in  Washington,  D.  C.  Farther  west  along  the  south 
coast,  and  in  the  Aleutian  Islands,  for  the  same  reason, 
the  climate  is  mild,  but  over  the  mountains  it  is  dry  and 
bitterly  cold.  In  the  interior  of  Alaska,  the  thermometer 
often  falls  to  sixty  or  seventy  degrees  below  zero,  and  at 
Fairbanks,  in  the  Tanana  valley,  when  the  winter  weather 
is  twenty  below  the  people  think  it  is  fine.  There  and  in 
the  far  north  the  winter  sun  comes  out  for  only  a  few 
hours  at  midday,  and  at  Point  Barrow  for  forty  days  in 
midwinter  it  does  not  come  out  at  all.  Just  now  it  is  mid- 
summer and  we  shall  fly  over  many  places  north  of  the 


406 


AN  AIRPLANE  FLIGHT  THROUGH  ALASKA       407 

Yukon  where  the  sun  is  still  shining  at  midnight.  We 
shall  be  able  to  take  photographs  from  our  airplanes  at 
one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  may  perhaps  get  a  snap- 
shot of  a  baseball  game  at  one  of  the  mining  camps,  for 
sports  are  sometimes  held  at  that  hour. 

But  all  this  while  we  have  been  flying  northward  along 
the  moist  warm  coast  of  British  Columbia.  We  are  now 
crossing  Dixon  Strait  and  entering  southeast  Alaska. 
That  pretty  little  town  with  its  houses  of  wood  and  brick 
hugging  the  mountains  is  Ketchikan'.  It  lies  just  north 
of  the  boundary  between  Alaska  and  Canada.  These 
beautiful  islands  covered  with  green,  their  tops  crowned 
with  snow,  belong  to  the  Alexander  Archipelago,  which 
runs  from  here  for  several  hundred  miles  along  the  west 
coast. 

How  it  rains!  As  the  water  pours  down  upon  us,  we  are 
reminded  of  the  reply  of  a  Ketchikan  man  to  a  tourist 
who  landed  in  a  similar  storm.  The  tourist  asked: 

"Does  it  rain  always  like  this  in  Ketchikan? " 

"I  don't  know,"  was  the  reply.  "I  have  lived  here  only 
seventeen  years. " 

As  we  go  on  to  the  north  the  sun  comes  out  now  and  then, 
and  the  land  is  glorious  under  its  rays.  We  circle  about 
at  the  end  of  a  fiord  before  the  Taku  Glacier,  a  huge  wall 
of  blue  ice  which  rises  from  the  water  almost  to  the  height 
of  our  national  Capitol.  From  there  we  go  on  to  Juneau, 
which  is  within  gunshot  of  the  Mendenhall  Glacier,  a 
river  of  ice  several  hundred  feet  deep,  which  ends  in  a 
valley  bordered  with  the  most  gorgeous  wild  flowers.  At 
the  same  tune  the  breath  of  Jack  Frost,  whose  summer 
home  may  be  in  this  ice>  sends  a  chill  to  our  bones. 

We  shall  see  other  glaciers  as  we  fly  northward  along 
the  coast,  and  about  the  Gulf  of  Alaska.  There  are  more 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 25 


408  NORTH   AMERICA 

than  five  thousand  between  Ketchikan  and  Seward,  near 
Prince  William  Sound,  where  the  government  railway 
begins.  Upon  the  western  slope  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  for 
instance,  eleven  huge  blocks  of  ice  are  moving  down  to 
the  ocean,  and  one  of  these  is  fifty  miles  long  and  twenty 
miles  wide,  while  another  ends  in  a  wall  of  ice  two  hundred 
feet  high.  The  Muir  Glacier,  near  Skagway,  is  twice  as 
high  as  Niagara  Falls  and  three  times  as  wide. 

We  drop  down  at  Juneau,  the  capital  of  Alaska,  to  call 
upon  the  governor  of  the  territory  and  have  a  look  at  the 
great  gold  mines  on  Douglas  Island  and  on  the  mainland 
near  by.  Juneau  has  good  stores  and  fine  homes  running 
along  streets  of  planks,  which  climb  from  the  water  far 
up  the  steep  mountains. 

We  make  another  stop  at  beautiful  Sitka,  on  Bara'nof 
Island  not  far  away.  This  was  the  old  capital,  and  it  has 
buildings  which  were  put  up  by  the  Russians  when  they 
owned  the  country.  We  learn  here  how  the  United  States 
bought  Alaska  from  Russia  for  seven  million  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  take  our  pencils  and  try  to  figure  the 
cost.  We  find  that  the  territory  contains  more  than  three 
hundred  and  seventy  million  acres,  and  that  it  cost  less 
than  two  cents  per  acre.  As  we  go  on  with  our  flight  we 
shall  learn  what  a  good  bargain  Uncle  Sam  made  with  the 
Russians.  The  country  now  produces  in  gold,  copper,  and 
furs,  every  year,  many  times  as  much  as  it  cost.  From 
its  mines  we  have  already  taken  out  gold,  silver,  and  copper 
worth  more  than  four  hundred  million  dollars;  from  its 
waters  we  have  sold  fish  products  which  have  brought 
more  than  three  hundred  millions;  and  we  have  received 
more  than  eighty  million  dollars  from  the  furs  of  the  seals, 
otters,  foxes,  and  other  wild  animals  caught  on  both  sea  and 
land.  Just  now  the  chief  mineral  is  copper,  the  product  of 


AN   AIRPLANE   FLIGHT  THROUGH   ALASKA       409 

which  is  worth  more  than  the  gold  and  silver  combined; 
and  from  the  fisheries  we  are  annually  receiving  many 
million  dollars  more  than  from  all  the  minerals. 

When  we  remember  that  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase  we 
bought  from  France  almost  twice  as  much  land  as  Alaska 
for  about  four  cents  an  acre,  it  seems  to  us  that  Uncle  Sam, 
is  a  wise  real  estate  dealer. 

Flying  on  northwest,  we  skirt  the  Gulf  of  Alaska,  going 
slowly  over  Cor'dova,  where  a  railroad  passes  between 
two  mighty  glaciers  on  its  way  to  the  Kennecott  copper 
mines  high  up  in  the  mountains,  and  near  which  are  large 
mines  of  copper  and  deposits  of  coal.  A  little  later  we  drop 
down  to  the  Kenai  (ke-ni')  Peninsula  to  have  a  look  at 
Seward,  the  southern  terminus  of  the  government  railway. 
It  is  a  thriving  little  settlement  on  an  excellent  harbor, 
kept  open  all  the  year  round  by  the  mild  climate. 

The  distance  from  Seward  to  Fairbanks  on  the  Xanana 
River  in  the  heart  of  Alaska  is  about  four  hundred  and 
seventy  miles,  and  the  government  railroad  now  joins  the 
two  towns.  This  railroad  runs  northward  through  a  little 
valley  under  the  shadow  of  Mt.  McKinley,  the  land  about 
which  is  now  a  national  park. 

We  have  no  time  for  a  trip  over  the  railway,  but  with 
our  airplanes  we  fly  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  where* 
we  stop  in  order  to  say  we  have  rested  our  feet  on  the 
highest  point  in  the  North  American  continent.  The 
scenery  is  grand,  but  the  air  at  this  height  is  so  thin  that 
we  find  our  heads  aching  with  mountain  sickness.  The 
intense  cold  sends  chills  down  our  spines,  and  the  winds 
almost  lift  our  airplanes  up  from  the  ice.  It  is  dangerous 
to  wait,  so  we  climb  back  into  the  planes  and  are  soon  out 
in  the  milder  climate  above  the  lowlands  of  the  coast. 

We   sail   high   over  Kodiak  (kod-yak'),  a  great   green 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Street  in  Nome  during  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration. 

island  noted  for  its  huge  bears;  we  seethe  volcano  of  Katmai 
sending  up  volumes  of  vapor  off  to  our  right;  and  then  we 
go  on  out  over  the  Aleutian  Islands  and  above  Bering  Sea. 
Our  next  stop  is  in  the  midst  of  that  sea,  at  the  Pribilof' 
Islands,  where  the  fur  seals  come  every  year  to  breed  and 
rear  their  young.  It  is  from  these  seals  that  we  get  the 
beautiful  furs  that  are  sold  all  over  the  world.  They  have 
already  brought  in  more  than  fifty  million  dollars,  and 
the  government  protects  the  seals  so  that  we  shall  probably 
have  colonies  of  these  animals  here  for  all  time  to  come. 
We  spend  a  while  with  the  government  officers,  taking 
photographs  of  the  seals.  Some  of  the  huge  bulls  weigh 
five  times  as  much  as  the  biggest  boy  in  our  party,  but 


ESKIMOS  AND  INDIANS  411 

the  puppies  are  so  small  we  can  pull  them  about.  They 
look  like  young  dogs,  and  are  so  playful  as  they  swim  about 
in  the  water  that  we  wish  we  could  take  one  along  with  us. 

From  the  seal  islands  our  air  fleet  moves  to  the  north. 
We  pass  the  mouths  of  the  Kuskokwim  and  Yukon  rivers; 
fly  slowly  over  Nome,  where  a  few  miners  are  washing 
out  gold  from  the  sands  of  the  seashore,  and  then  go  on 
above  Bering  Strait  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  We  follow  the 
Arctic  coast  to  Point  Barrow,  our  settlement  nearest  the 
North  Pole,  and  then  come  back  to  Nome. 

Our  flight  has  been  made  in  the  summer,  when  the 
Arctic  Ocean  is  almost  free  from  ice,  although  we  now  and 
then  see  an  ice  floe  or  a  great  iceberg  floating  about.  There 
are  schools  of  whales  in  the  sea,  and  near  the  coast  now 
and  then  we  see  a  drove  of  walruses,  huge  sea  animals,  the 
largest  of  which  is  twelve  feet  in  length  and  weighs  almost 
a  ton.  Walruses  spend  most  of  their  .time  near  the  shore, 
resting  at  times  on  the  floating  ice.  They  are  valuable 
chiefly  for  their  ivory  tusks,  one  of  which  hangs  down- 
ward on  each  side  of  their  bristling  mouths.  Some  of  the 
tusks  are  almost  as  long  as  a  baseball  bat. 


LX.  ESKIMOS  AND  INDIANS  — A  TRIP  UP  THE 
YUKON 

DURING  our  long  flight  through  Alaska,  we  have 
seen  many  Indians.  They  live  along  the  coast  of  the 
southern  part  of  the  territory,  on  the  islands  of  the  Alex- 
ander and  Aleutian  archipelagoes,  and  almost  every- 
where along  the  great  rivers.  Those  of  the  interior  live 
in  log  cabins,  and  in  southeastern  Alaska  in  houses  of 


412 


NORTH  AMERICA 


boards  with  huge  totem  poles  wonderfully  carved 
in  front.  The  totem  pole  indicates  the  tribe  or 
clan  to  which  the  family  belongs,  and  it  also 
had  something  to  do  with  the  religion  of  the 
Indians  before  they  were  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity by  our  missionaries.  There  are  Indian 
schools  almost  everywhere,  and  most  of  the 
Indians  we  meet  speak  more  or  less  English. 

Along  the  south  coast  the  Indians  live  largely 
by  fishing,  and  many  of  them  work  for  the  great 
fishing  companies,  both  at  sea  and  in  the  can- 
neries. Some  have  boats  of  their  own  and  go 
far  out  in  the  ocean  for  sea  otters  and  halibut. 
In  the  interior  nearly  all  hunt  or  trap  for  their 
living.  Most  of  the  furs  and  skins  are  taken  in 
the  winter  and  in  the  spring  sold  to  the  white 
traders  who  go  from  port  to  port  and  town  to 
town  to  buy. 

These  Indians  of  Alaska  are  much  like  those 
of  the  United  States,  save  that  the  waters  are 
their  chief  hunting  grounds.  The  food  of  some 
tribes  is  largely  fish,  wild  game,  and  berries. 
They  catch  salmon  in  the  summer  and  dry 
them  for  winter  use.  They  have  fish  wheels 
similar  to  those  we  saw  on  the  Columbia  River, 
and  as  we  fly  up  the  Yukon  or  Kuskokwim, 
we  shall  see  these  fish  wheels  turning  about  in 
the  stream,  and  racks  of  poles  for  drying  the 
fish  on  the  banks  near  by. 

During  our  flight  over  the  Seward  Peninsula 
and  along  the  coast  of  the  Bering  Sea  and  the 
Arctic  Ocean  we  have  seen  many  Eskimos. 
Totem  pole.  There  are  some  here  at  Nome,  and  we  can 


Eskimo  children.    They  wear  fur-lined  dresses  and  fur-lined  boots. 


414  NORTH  AMERICA 

fly  to  their  little  villages  near  by.  The  Eskimos  about 
Nome  make  their  living  by  fishing  and  hunting  and 
selling  furs  and  ivory  carvings.  They  are  dressed  in  half 
civilized  fashion.  The  women  have  parkas,  or  long  cloaks 
of  calico  trimmed  with  fur,  and  under  them  cloth  trousers 
and  boots  of  sealskin  reaching  halfway  to  their  knees. 
Others  of  the  Eskimos  are  clothed  entirely  in  fur.  They 
have  fur  parkas,  fur  trousers,  and  fur  hats  or  bonnets 
which  stand  out  in  a  long  fringe  around  their  light  yellow 
faces. 

The  Eskimos  are  not  so  dark  skinned  as  the  Indians, 
and  their  faces  are  square  rather  than  long.  The  children 
have  rosy  cheeks,  and  their  lips  are  bright  red.  The  faces 
of  many  of  the  old  women  are  tattooed  from  the  lower  lip 
to  the  chin,  and  now  and  then  we  see  an  old  man  with  a 
button  of  bone  fastened  in  a  hole  near  the  edge  of  his 
mouth.  The  Eskimos  have  black  eyes  and  coarse  black 
hair.  The  women  part  their  hair  in  the  middle  and  wear 
it  in  two  long  braids  down  their  backs.  The  eyes  of  the 
Eskimos  slant  a  little  like  those  of  the  Chinese.  The  people 
have  a  friendly  look  and  smile  as  we  trade  with  them. 

Many  of  these  people  speak  English,  and  their  children 
go  to  the  government  schools.  We  have  established  more 
than  twenty  public  schools  on  the  Seward  Peninsula  and 
others  along  the  north  coast.  More  than  eight  hundred 
Eskimo  children  attend  them.  They  are  learning  civilized 
ways  and  are  taught  to  honor  the  American  flag.  The 
Eskimos  learn  their  lessons  as  easily  as  we  do,  and  they 
are  experts  in  many  games  and  athletic  sports.  They  are 
good  shots,  and  are  skillful  in  handling  the  kayak  (ki'ak) , 
a  skin  boat  somewhat  like  a  canoe. 

Of  late  years  many  of  the  Eskimos  have  herds  of  rein- 
deer, the  descendants  of  animals  which  our  government 


415 


416  NORTH  AMERICA 

brought  from  Siberia.  They  use  the  deer  to  drag  their 
sledges  from  place  to  place.  The  milk  and  flesh  of  these 
animals  are  excellent  food.  We  see  large  droves  of  rein- 
deer during  our  flight,  for  there  are  now  many  thousands  in 
Alaska,  and  they  are  increasing  so  fast  that  reindeer  meat 
is  being  sent  in  cold  storage  ships  to  the  United  States  to 
be  sold  in  our  markets.  The  meat  tastes  like  venison. 
We  wonder  how  our  parents  will  like  it  when  it  comes  to 
their  tables. 

During  the  winter  some  of  the  Eskimos  live  in  snow 
houses  near  the  good  hunting  and  fishing  grounds.  The 
houses  are  made  of  blocks  of  snow,  with  tunnel-like  en- 
trances through  which  one  has  to  crawl  to  reach  the  large 
room  that  forms  the  winter  home.  Instead  of  a  window 
there  is  a  hole  in  the  walls  or  roof,  which  is  sometimes  cov- 
ered with  thin  skin.  The  cooking  was  once  done  over  lamps 
of  stone  in  which  seal  or  whale  oil  was  burned,  but  now 
many  of  the  Eskimos  have  oil  stoves  like  ours  and  buy 
their  kerosene  from  the  traders. 

Leaving  Nome  in  our  airplanes,  we  fly  across  Norton 
Sound  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon,  and  up  that  great 
river  past  the  gold  camp  of  Ruby  to  where  the  Tanana 
River  flows  into  it  at  Fort  Gibbon.  Here  we  turn  more 
to  the  south  and  fly  up  the  Tanana  valley  to  Fairbanks, 
the  chief  commercial  center  of  interior  Alaska.  The  town 
is  situated  at  the  end  of  the  government  railway  whose 
other  terminus  we  saw  at  Seward.  It  is  also  the  head  of 
navigation  on  the  Tanana.  There  are  steamers  which 
make  regular  sailings  out  to  the  Yukon,  some  going  down 
that  river  to  Nome,  and  others  upstream  to  Fort  Yukon, 
Circle,  Eagle,  and  on  to  Dawson  in  Canada.  There  are  also 
trails  and  wagon  roads  from  Fairbanks  to  Val'dez  and 
Cordova  on  the  south  coast,  and  to  mining  camps  in  other 


A  TRIP  UP  THE  YUKON 


417 


parts  of  the  territory.  Fairbanks  is  in  a  rich  placer  mining 
region,  and  there  are  farms  and  gardens  not  far  from 
the  town.  Our  Department  of  Agriculture  has  an  experi- 
ment station  five  miles  from  Fairbanks,  where  barley, 


Farmhouse  and  summer  flowers,  near  Fairbanks,  Alaska. 

buckwheat,  and  other. grains  are  raised.  The  little  city 
has  large  stores,  a  public  library  built  of  logs,  and  many 
comfortable  log  houses,  which,  in  the  summer,  are  sur- 
rounded by  beautiful  gardens  of  vegetables  and  flowers. 

1.  Locate    Alaska.    The   Alexander   Archipelago.    The   Aleutian 
Islands.     The  Alaska  Peninsula.     The  Seward  Peninsula.     Bering 
Strait.    How  far  it  is  from  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  to  Asia?    Where 
is  Point  Barrow? 

2.  Compare  Alaska  with  the  main  body  of  the  United  States  in 
size;  in  climate.    Compare  the  Yukon  River  with  the  Columbia;  with 


418  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  Mississippi;  with  the  Hudson.    Where  is  its  source?    its  mouth? 
What  navigable  tributaries  has  it? 

3.  Locate  Juneau,  Sitka,  Ketchikan,  Seward,  Nome,  and  Fair- 
banks, and  tell  something  about  each.    Trace  a  shipment  of  goods 
from  New  York  via  railway  to  San  Francisco,  and  by  ship  to  Nome. 
By  way  of  the  Panama  Canal  to  Seattle,  and  thence  to  Nome.    By 
the  Strait  of  Magellan. 

4.  From  what  nation  did  we  buy  Alaska?    What  was  the  price, 
and  was  it  a  profitable  purchase? 

5.  What   is  the   midnight  sun?    Where   is   it    seen?     (See  Car- 
penter's "Europe.") 

6.  What  is  a  glacier?    Describe  some  glaciers  which  we  see  on 
our  journey. 

7.  What  are  the  chief  products  of  Alaska?    Pay  a  visit  to  the 
seal  islands  and  tell  what  you  see.    (See  also  Carpenter's  "How  the 
World  is  Clothed,"  Chapter  26.) 

8.  Describe  the  Indians  of  Alaska.   The  Eskimos  and  their  winter 
homes. 


LXI.  BRITISH  AMERICA  —  GENERAL  VIEW 

WE  have  left  Alaska  and  are  now  in  British  America. 
We  have  come  by  airplane  from  Fairbanks  eastward 
to  Dawson  at  the  mouth  of  the  Klondike  where  it  flows 
into  the  Yukon.  We  are  in  what  not  very  many  years  ago 
was  one  of  the  chief  gold-mining  regions  of  the  world, 
and  out  of  which  even  now  men  are  taking  every  year  gold 
worth  some  millions  of  dollars.  The  gold,  like  that  about 
Fairbanks  and  Nome,  is  placer  gold,  most  of  which  is  buried 
deep  down  in  earth  that  has  been  frozen  for  hundreds  of 
years.  The  mining  is  done  by  thawing  the  soil  by  wood 
fires  or  steam  pipes  and  washing  it  to  get  out  the  gold.  In 
some  places  the  thawed  ground  is  worked  over  by  huge 
dredges,  and  in  others  by  hydraulic  giants,  or  lines  of 
large  hose  which  send  streams  of  water  against  the  sides 


Dawson,  Yukon  Territory. 


Gold  dredge,  Canada.    It  digs  up  the  thawed  ground  and  washes 
out  the  gold. 


419 


DOMINION  OF  CANADA 


Longitude 


420 


421 


422  NORTH  AMERICA 

of  the  hills.  It  was  in  1896  that  the  gold  was  discovered, 
and  since  then  more  than  two  hundred  million  dollars' 
worth  of  this  precious  metal  has  been  taken  out  of  the 
frozen  ground. 

The  mines  are  now  almost  exhausted;  and  Dawson, 
which  was  once  a  fair-sized  city,  has  dwindled  to  little 
more  than  a  village.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  Yukon  Territory, 
however,  and  by  a  call  on  the  governor  we  learn  something 
of  British  America. 

But  first  let  us  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  this  mighty 
land  to  the  north  of  the  United  States.  British  America 
is  so  large  that  we  have  not  time  to  see  it  all,  even  by  air- 
plane. With  the  exception  of  Alaska,  it  includes  the  whole 
northern  part  of  our  continent.  From  north  to  south  it  is 
several  hundred  miles  wider  than  the  United  States,  and 
from  east  to  west  several  hundred  miles  longer.  It  is  almost 
as  large  as  Europe,  and  has  more  land  than  our  country, 
even  including  Alaska.  Canada  is  larger  than  Australia, 
twice  as  large  as  India,  and  thirty  times  the  size  of  the 
United  Kingdom.  The  island  of  Newfoundland,  which  is 
not  a  part  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  is  as  large  as  Ohio. 
The  Labrador  coast  is  governed  by  Newfoundland. 

This  territory  of  British  America  is  one  of  mighty  moun- 
tains and  vast  plains  and  plateaus;  of  mighty  rivers  and 
inland  seas.  It  has  a  western  highland  as  we  have,  great 
plains  devoted  to  wheat  and  other  grains,  and  forests 
so  extensive  that  only  the  wilds  of  northern  Europe  and 
Asia  can  be  compared  to  them.  The  rivers  of  British 
America  include  the  Mackenzie,  which  is  about  as  long  as 
the  Mississippi  without  the  Missouri,  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence, which  drains  the  Great  Lakes.  Moreover,  British 
America  owns  one  half  of  four  of  those  lakes,  and  it  has 
also  Great  Bear  Lake,  which  is  larger  than  Lake  Erie,  and 


BRITISH  AMERICA  —  GENERAL  VIEW  423 

Great  Slave  Lake  and  Lake  Winnipeg,  each  of  which  exceeds 
Lake  Ontario  in  size.  Hudson  Bay  may  be  compared  to 
the  Mexican  Gulf,  for  it  is  about  thirteen  hundred  miles 
long  and  nearly  six  hundred  miles  wide.  All  together,  the 
coast  line  of  British  America  is  half  the  length  of  the 
equator. 

The  climate  of  Canada  varies  from  the  mild  coasts  of 
British  Columbia,  where  the  winters  are  no  colder  than 
those  of  Kentucky,  to  the  frigid  lands  of  the  north,  where 
in  the  interior  the  thermometer  may  drop  to  seventy 
degrees  below  zero;  and  from  regions  where  it  rains  almost 
every  day  to  the  dry  lands  east  of  the  Rockies,  where 
irrigation  is  required  to  make  the  crops  grow.  The  far 
north  has  such  long,  cold  winters  that  only  a  few  Indians 
and  Eskimos  live  there,  though  the  short  summers  are 
very  warm.  The  uninhabited  lands  of  the  whole  country 
are  so  extensive  that  the  population  of  Canada  is  less 
than  one  tenth  that  of  the  United  States.  The  only 
thickly  settled  regions  are  in  the  provinces  that  border 
on  the  Great  Lakes  and  in  the  grain  areas  of  the  great 
plains. 

Nevertheless,  British  America  is  of  enormous  impor- 
tance to  us,  and  its  resources  are  so  many  and  so  varied 
that  it  will  always  have  a  large  place  in  the  world.  Its 
foreign  trade  is  already  more  than  two  billion  dollars  a 
year,  and  the  greater  part  of  this  is  with  the  United  States. 
The  country  has  rich  mines  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper; 
it  has  enormous  agricultural  resources,  and  some  of  the 
largest  fisheries  of  the  world.  The  lumber  and  wood  pulp 
exports  of  Canada  amount  to  many  millions  of  dollars  a 
year,  and  a  large  part  of  the  newspapers  and  books  of  the 
United  States  are  printed  on  paper  made  from  the  soft-wood 
trees  of  the  Canadian  forests. 


424 


BRITISH  AMERICA  —  GENERAL  VIEW  425 

But  suppose  we  take  a  look  at  the  map  and  divide  the 
country  into  sections  before  we  begin  to  explore  it.  In 
the  far  east  we  see  Newfoundland,  which  is  a  separate 
colony  of  Great  Britain;  and  southwest  of  it  we  see  Prince 
Edward  Island,  New  Brunswick,  and  Nova  Scotia,  belong- 
ing to  Canada.  This  territory  is  almost  surrounded  by  the 
sea,  and,  therefore,  it  is  often  referred  to  as  the  Maritime 
Provinces.  It  is  about  as  large  as  Illinois  and  Ohio  com- 
bined. It  is  a  land  of  great  resources,  having  valuable 
'forests,  and  rich  deposits  of  coal  and  other  minerals.  Its 
inhabitants  are  largely  a  sea-faring  people,  more  than  fifty 
thousand  men  being  engaged  in  fishing  for  the  cod,  lobster, 
and  herring  found  near  its  shores. 

To  the  west  of  the  Maritime  Provinces  are  the  two  prov- 
inces of  Quebec  and  Ontario,  which  are  sometimes  called 
Eastern  Canada.  This  section  of  the  Dominion  has  al- 
ways been  foremost  in  commerce,  manufactures,  farming, 
and  forestry.  It  has  the  largest  cities  and  almost  two 
thirds  of  the  people,  and  its  area  is  about  one  third  of  all 
British  America. 

Farther  west,  between  Ontario  and  British  Columbia, 
lie  the  three  prairie  provinces  of  Manito'ba,  Saskatchewan, 
and  Alberta.  These  we  call  Central  Canada.  Their  area 
is  nearly  equal  to  that  of  our  plateau  states,  and  they 
correspond  somewhat  in  character  with  the  great  plains  of 
-our  country.  Most  of  the  land  is  wooded,  but  the  southern 
portion  is  one  vast  stretch  of  grain  land  and  pastures. 

West  of  the  prairies  and  extending  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
is  what  is  known  as  Western  Canada,  consisting  for 
the  most  part  of  British  Columbia.  This  corresponds  to 
our  Western  Highlands.  It  has  high  mountains  seamed 
with  valuable  minerals,  and  valleys  which  are  being  turned 
into  orchards  much  like  those  of  our  Pacific  Northwest. 


426  NORTH  AMERICA 

British  Columbia  is  almost  one  tenth  the  size  of  the  United 
States. 

The  remainder  of  British  America  consists  of  Yukon 
Territory,  where  we  are  now,  and  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tories. This  is  Northern  Canada.  It  is  one  third  as  large 
as  all  Europe,  but  it  is  so  wintry  and  wild  that  its  popula- 
tion of  Indians,  Eskimos,  and  whites  is  less  than  fifty  thou- 
sand all  told.  It  might  be  called  the  great  fur  land  of  the 
Canadian  Dominion. 


LXII.  NORTHERN  CANADA  —  THE  FUR  LANDS  — 
INDIANS  AND  ESKIMOS 

TO-DAY  we  shall  see  something  of  the  extensive 
wastes  of  British  America.  The  land  is  so  wild  that 
we  shall  have  to  do  most  of  our  traveling  by  boats  or 
canoes,  or  on  foot  with  dog  sleds.  This  part  of  the  Cana- 
dian Dominion  has  few  roads.  There  is  only  one  little 
railway  which  comes  over  the  mountains  from  Skagway, 
Alaska,  to  White  Horse,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the 
Yukon,  where  one  can  get  steamers  for  Dawson.  We 
take  ship  at  Dawson  and  go  on  down  the  river  to  Fort 
Yukon,  Alaska,  where  we  steam  up  the  Porcupine  River 
to  the  Canadian  boundary  and  then  tramp  across  country 
to  Fort  McPherson  on  the  Mackenzie.  We  carry  some 
flour,  bacon,  and  other  food  with  us,  and  add  to  this  by 
the  fish  and  game  we  catch  or  shoot  on  the  way. 

At  Fort  McPherson  we  find  one  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company's  steamers  and  go  out  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  to 
watch  the  whalers  at  work,  and  then,  turning  back,  travel 
southward  on  the  Mackenzie  River  to  the  Great  Slave 


NORTHERN  CANADA  427 

Lake,  from  which  we  make  our  way  across  country  to  Hud- 
son Bay.  We  visit  the  fur  trading  posts  on  the  west  coast 
of  that  bay,  and  from  Port  Nelson  go  to  the  end  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  railway,  which  takes  us  into  the  prairie 
provinces  of  Central  Canada,  and  on  to  the  more  settled 
parts  of  the  Canadian  Dominion. 

Our  travels  hi  the  northland  are  especially  interesting. 
With  the  exception  of  the  treeless  tundras  along  the  Arctic 
Ocean,  we  are  in  the  woods  all  the  time,  and  the  only 
people  we  see  are  the  white  fur  traders  and  the  half  savage 
Indians  and  Eskimos  who  live  by  hunting  and  trapping. 
The  traders  are  our  hosts  at  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
posts  where  we  stop  on  the  way.  Each  post  has  a  little 
store  filled  with  goods,  which  are  exchanged  for  the  furs 
and  skins  that  the  Indians  take  in  their  trapping  and 
hunting.  We  find  Indians  about  the  posts,  and  are  able 
now  and  then  to  go  out  with  them  to  look  at  their  traps, 
or  to  hunt  deer,  bear,  and  other  wild  game. 

The  Hudson  Bay  Company  controls  most  of  the  fur 
trade  of  British  America.  It  was  organized  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  when  Charles  II  of  England 
gave  certain  rich  citizens  of  London  the  exclusive  right  to 
trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  Hudson  Bay  wastes.  This 
territory  was  extended  until  at  last  the  company  controlled 
nearly  all  the  country  from  Labrador  to  the  Pacific,  and 
from  the  United  States  to  the  Arctic.  Much  of  the  southern 
part  of  these  lands  have  since  been  taken  over  by  settlers 
and  turned  into  farms,  but  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
agents  are  to  be  found  trading  for  furs  almost  everywhere 
in  the  northlands  of  the  Canadian  Dominion. 

British  America  is  one  of  the  best  fur  lands  of  the  world. 
It  has  bears,  minks,  foxes,  wolves,  and  deer  in  its  forests, 
and  beavers  and  otters  in  its  rivers  and  lakes.  In  the  far 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 26 


428 


NORTHERN  CANADA  429 

north  the  trade  is  by  barter,  in  which  the  unit  of  account 
is  the  beaver.  One  beaver  pelt  is  worth  a  certain  number 
of  martens,  and  that  of  a  silver  fox  is  worth  many  beavers. 
The  Hudson  Bay  Company  sends  out  blankets,  beads, 
knives,  and  other  such  things  for  sale,  and  the  Indians 
know  just  how  much  they  should  get  for  each  skin.  Some 
of  the  supplies  are  brought  in  by  railway  and  carried  across 
southern  Canada  to  Edmonton  in  Alberta  and  thence 
north  to  the  Mackenzie  River;  some  go  to  Dawson  in 
the  Yukon  Territory  and  out  that  way;  and  some  by 
steamers  into  Hudson  Bay,  which  is  open  to  navigation 
for  about  four  months  during  the  summer.  The  ships 
leave  their  supplies,  and  then  return  to  London  loaded 
with  furs. 

In  our  long  northern  journey  we  find  no  lack  of  either 
game  or  fish.  We  now  and  then  kill  a  caribou  and  some- 
times a  moose.  Moose  hunting  is  by  no  means  child's 
play.  A  bull  moose  is  often  eight  feet  in  height,  and  from 
tip  to  tip  its  enormous  antlers  sometimes  measure  six  feet. 
The  best  time  for  hunting  moose  is  in  winter.  Then  the 
tracks  of  the  huge  animals  can  be  plainly  seen  in  the  deep 
snow,  and  by  using  snowshoes  one  can  follow  them  so  rap- 
idly that  they  cannot  escape.  The  Indians  call  the  moose 
by  imitating  its  cries,  and  they  are  careful  to  keep  to  the 
windward  lest  he  should  scent  their  presence.  In  such 
hunting  it  is  well  to  have  a  repeating  rifle;  for  the  huge 
bulls  are  fierce  fighters,  and  when  wounded  are  liable  to 
turn  upon  the  hunter  and  crush  him  with  their  horns. 

In  the  Rockies  of  British  America  are  many  panthers, 
grizzly  bears,  and  mountain  sheep,  and  in  the  north  are 
polar  bears,  such  as  we  have  in  Alaska.  The  grizzlies  are 
enormous,  and  those  who  hunt  them  take  their  lives  in 
their  hands.  Mountain  sheep  are  found  in  the  hills  high 


430  NORTH  AMERICA 

above  where  the  grizzlies  live.  They  are  sure-footed,  jump- 
ing from  rock  to  rock,  and  are  difficult  to  kill. 

1.  Locate  British  America.    Compare  it  in  size  and  climate  with 
the  United  States.    With  Europe.    With  the  United  Kingdom.    Into 
what  sections  may  British  America  be  divided?    Locate  vthem  on  the 
map,  and  name  their  chief  characteristics. 

2.  What  is  the  population  of  British  America?    How  does  it  com- 
pare witn  that  of  the  United  States?    (See  page  492.) 

3.  Locate  Northern  Canada.    Hudson  Bay.    Mackenzie  River. 

•  4.  What  is  the  Hudson  Bay  Company?  How  is  the  fur  trading 
carried  on?  What  are  the  principal  furs  from  northern  North  America? 
Which  are  the  most  important?  How  are  they  caught  and  pre- 
pared for  the  markets?  (See  Carpenter's  "  How  the  World  is  Clothed," 
pages  176-205.) 


LXIII.  WESTERN  AND  CENTRAL  CANADA  - 
ACROSS  THE  ROCKIES  AND  WHEAT  BELT 
INTO  ONTARIO 

FROM  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
railway  we  travel  westward  through  Saskatchewan 
and  Alberta  to  Edmonton,  and  thence  by  the  Grand  Trunk 
Pacific  railway  over  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Prince  Ru- 
pert. The  scenery  of  the  last  part  of  the  trip  is  quite  as 
wonderful  as  anything  we  have  seen  in  the  United  States, 
and  there  are  snow-clad  mountains  most  of  the  way. 
Prince  Rupert  lies  right  on  the  sea.  It  is  one  of  the  chief 
ports  of  Western  Canada,  and  salmon  and  halibut  are 
brought  here  by  shiploads  and  frozen  for  export  over  the 
railways  to  Eastern  Canada  and  the  United  States. 

Prince  Rupert  has  an  excellent  harbor,  from  which 
some  day  there  will  probably  be  many  steamship  lines 
going  to  and  from  Japan  and  China.  The  port  is  so  far 


WESTERN  CANADA  431 

north  on  the  globe  that  its  distance  from  these  countries 
across  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  much  less  than  from  Puget 
Sound  or  San  Francisco,  and  by  this  route  the  trip  from 
Europe  westward  to  Asia  can  be  reduced  one  or  two  days. 
At  present  most  of  the  shipping  of  British  America  goes  to 
the  Far  East  and  Australia  through  the  port  of  Vancouver 
(van-kooVer) .  We  shall  visit  that  next. 

We  take  ship  at  Prince  Rupert  and  steam  southward 
along  the  coast,  and  within  two  days  are  at  anchor  in  the 
harbor  of  a  delightful  city  in  sight  of  the  great  white  cone 
of  Mount  Baker,  which  we  have  already  seen  from  Seattle. 
This  is  Vancouver,  the  western  terminus  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  railway,  and  an  important  port  for  steamers  going 
to  Asia.  The  city  has  wide  streets,  beautiful  parks,  and 
many  fine  buildings. 

Not  far  from  Vancouver,  at  the  southern  end  of  the  island 
of  Vancouver  and  on  the  route  of  the  steamships  going 
out  to  the  Pacific,  is  Victoria,  the  capital  of  British  Colum- 
bia. This  in  another  fine  city,  with  great  public  buildings 
looking  out  on  the  harbor,  and  with  comfortable  homes, 
which,  with  their  many  flowers,  remind  us  of  Seattle,  Ta- 
coma,  and  Portland.  Vancouver  Island  is  almost  as  large 
as  Ireland.  It  has  a  delightful  climate  and  much  rich 
farming  land. 

We  leave  Vancouver  for  our  trip  east  by  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  going  along  the  Fraser  (fra'zer)  River,  where  the 
miners  are  still  washing  gold  from  the  sands,  and  then 
climbing  onward  and  upward  into  the  heart  of  the  Rockies. 

The  scenery  is  grand  in  the  Canadian  Rockies.  We  ride 
for  days  with  snow-capped  mountains  in  sight,  now  and  then 
flying  past  glaciers  and  great  fields  of  ice,  and  now  looking 
down  into  valleys  walled  with  huge  pines  and  great  Douglas 
firs.  There  are  mining  camps  here  and  there  on  the  way. 


43  2 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Mount  Assiniboine,  near  Banff,  Canada.     This  peak  is  known  as 
the  "Matterhorn  of  America." 


and  if  we  should  go  off  from  the  railroad  we  might  find 
settlements  where  men  are  mining  gold,  silver,  copper,  and 
coal,  or  visit  valleys  where  are  great  orchards  of  apples  and 
pears. 

British  Columbia  has  some  of  the  richest  mining  regions 
of  the  North  American  continent,  and  its  mineral  output  is 
worth  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  It  may  be  compared  with 
the  Western  Highland  of  our  country,  although  the  climate 


WESTERN  AND  CENTRAL  CANADA  433 

near  the  coast  is  milder  than  that  of  the  highlands  of  the 
United  States. 

Out  of  the  Rockies  we  come  down  into  the  great  plains 
of  Central  Canada,  stopping  first  at  Cal'gary,  whose  loca- 
tion reminds  us  of  Denver.  Like  Denver,  it  is  in  the  foot- 
hills of  the  mountains,  and  like  that  city  it  is  surrounded 
by  vast  tracts  of  irrigated  lands,  watered  by  a  river  which 
comes  from  the  highlands.  Going  on  eastward,  we  travel 
for  days  through  the  wheat  fields,  crossing  Alberta,  Sas- 
katchewan, and  Manitoba,  all  large  provinces  with  rich 
farming  lands.  There  are  many  cities  and  towns  with 
elevators  near  the  railroad,  where  we  see  the  farmers  un- 
loading their  grain  for  the  cars.  We  are  now  in  the  largest 
block  of  wheat  land  in  the  world  and  we  might  travel  for 
hundreds  of  miles  to  the  north,  south,  east,  or  west  and 
not  get  out  of  the  grain  fields.  We  stay  awhile  at  Regi'na, 
the  capital  of  Saskatchewan,  and  spend  several  days  in 
Winnipeg,  the  capital  of  Manitoba,  and  the  largest  city  of 
this  part  of  Canada.  It  is  the  metropolis  of  the  Canadian 
wheat  lands ;  all  the  Canadian  trunk  lines  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Pacific  pass  through  it;  and  it  soon  will  have  rail- 
way connections  also  with  Hudson  Bay.  It  is  the  key  to 
the  prairies  and  commands  the  trade  of  the  region  to  the 
north  and  west. 

Leaving  Winnipeg  by  train,  we  stop  next  at  Port  Arthur^ 
on  Lake  Superior.  This  place  corresponds  to  Duluth, 
in  our  own  country,  as  it  is  the  Canadian  head  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Great  Lakes.  It  is  a  thriving  milling  and 
manufacturing  center,  and  has  so  many  huge  elevators 
that  it  might  be  called  the  Minneapolis  of  British  America. 
Here  we  spend  some  time  watching  the  loading  and  un- 
loading of  wheat,  and  are  told  that  most  of  the  grain  put 
on  the  steamers  will  be  sent  down  through  the  St.  Marys 


-    '•-* ' 

N,.,  -1  •••*:' 


434 


CENTRAL  CANADA  435 


Canal  and  the  Welland  Canal  to  Montreal 
and  thence  off  to  Europe.  Indeed,  we  might  go  along 
with  the  wheat  and  stay  on  the  boat  until  we  reach  Mon- 
treal, but  we  have  made  a  similar  journey  by  ship  from 
Duluth  to  Buffalo,  and  as  we  want  to  see  the  interior  of 
the  country  we  decide  to  continue  our  travels  by  railway. 

The  first  part  of  our  journey  is  through  dense  timber 
lands.  Almost  all  of  the  southern  part  of  the  province  of 
Ontario,  in  which  we  are  now,  is  covered  with  forest,  and 
the  only  farms  are  those  which  have  been  cut  out  of  the 
woods.  We  travel  for  miles  seeing  nothing  but  trees, 
crossing  rapid  rivers  and  skirting  numerous  lakes. 

We  stop  over  a  day  at  Sudbury  to  see  the  greatest  nickel 
mines  of  the  world. 

Every  one  of  us  knows  what  a  nickel  five-cent  piece  is. 
How  would  you  like  to  have  a  pile  of  them  as  big  as  the 
National  Capitol  at  Washington?  If  you  had,  it  would 
not  contain  as  much  nickel  as  the  ore  that  already  has  been 
taken  out  of  the  mines  here  at  Sudbury.  There  are  only 
two  places  on  earth,  so  far  as  is  known,  where  nickel  is 
found  in  large  quantities.  One  is  here  in  Canada,  and 
the  other  is  on  the  little  island  of  New  Caledonia,  south 
of  the  equator  and  not  far  from  Australia.  Canada  pro- 
duces about  three  fourths  of  all  that  is  mined. 

The  nickel  ore  at  Sudbury  lies  in  the  earth  much  like 
the  iron  ore  we  saw  at  Lake  Superior,  except  that  the  nickel 
is  sandwiched  between  great  walls  of  rock.  The  ore  is 
taken  out  by  drilling  and  blasting,  and  the  metal  is  smelted 
and  refined  for  the  various  industries  or  to  be  coined  into 
money.  One  of  its  uses  is  for  hardening  the  steel  of  pro- 
jectiles and  of  armor  plate  for  vessels  of  war.  It  is  also 
employed  to  toughen  steel  railroad  rails  when  used  on 
curves  or  steep  grades.  A  great  amount  of  nickel  is  also 


436  NORTH  AMERICA 

consumed  in  nickel  plating,  for  a  thin  coating  of  it  will 
keep  iron  or  steel  from  rusting  away. 

1.  Locate  Prince  Rupert  and  Vancouver.     Why  is  Prince  Rupert 
nearer  Asia  than  Vancouver? 

2.  Take  a  trip  across  Western  and  Central  Canada  from  Vancouver 
to  Winnipeg  and  tell  what  you  see.    Through  what  provinces  do 
you  pass?    What  is  the  chief  crop  of  this  region  east  of  the  Rockies? 
Compare  it  with  the  same  crop  of  the  United  States.    Of  other 
countries  (See  page  501.) 

3.  From  what  port  on  Lake  Superior  are  the  products  of  Central 
Canada  sent  down  the  lakes  to  Montreal?    Through  what  two  canals 
do  they  go?    What  share  has  Canada  in  the  Great  Lakes?    What 
lake  belongs  entirely  to  the  United  States? 

4.  What  is  nickel,  and  where  is  it  found?   Bring  a  nickel  five-cent 
piece  to  class  and  let  it  tell  its  story. 


LXIV.  EASTERN  CANADA  —  OTTAWA, 
MONTREAL,  AND  TORONTO 

TRAVELING  on  to  the  eastward,  we  come  into  the 
more  thickly  settled  regions  of  Ontario,  and  finally, 
at  about  thirteen  hundred  miles  from  Winnipeg,  reach 
Ot'tawa,  the  capital  of  the  Canadian  Dominion.  Ottawa  is 
a  beautiful  city .  It  is  situated  on  a  high  bluff  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Rideau  (re-do ')  and  Ottawa  rivers.  The  rivers 
pass  through  the  city,  and  the  immense  water  power  is 
utilized  for  foundries  and  factories.  One  can  go  by 
steamer  on  the  Ottawa  River  to  Montreal,  and  on  the 
Rideau  Canal  to  Lake  Ontario  at  Kingston. 

The  streets  of  Ottawa  are  wide  and  laid  out  at  right 
angles.  The  chief  government  buildings  are  on  Parlia- 
ment Hill,  which  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  above 


EASTERN  CANADA  437 

the  river.  The  magnificent  Parliament  Building  is  more 
than  five  hundred  feet  long. 

It  is  at  Ottawa  that  the  governor-general  of  Canada 
lives.  He  is  appointed  by  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  and 
receives  a  salary  of  about  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year. 
He  is  little  more  than  a  figurehead,  however,  like  the  king. 
The  people  of  Canada  elect  the  members  of  the  Dominion 
Parliament,  and  it  is  Parliament  that  fixes  the  taxes  and 
directs  how  all  of  the  government  moneys  are  to  be  spent. 
Parliament  makes  the  laws,  and  controls  the  prime  minister, 
who  is  the  real  chief  executive. 

The  Parliament  at  Ottawa  deals  only  with  Canada  as 
a  whole.  Each  of  the  provinces  has  a  government  some- 
what like  that  of  our  states.  Although  nominally  a  colony 
of  Great  Britain,  the  country  is  almost  as  much  a  republic 
as  ours  is. 

The  two  largest  cities  of  Canada  are  Montreal  and 
Toronto.  Toronto  is  the  capital  of  the  province  of  On- 
tario. It  is  situated  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario, 
on  an  inlet  which  gives  it  a  magnificent  harbor,  Canada 's 
three  transcontinental  railways  have  terminals  at  Toronto, 
and  this  is  also  the  chief  port  for  the  vessels  that  go  through 
the  Welland  Canal  on  their  way  up  and  down  the  Great 
Lakes.  The  city  is  of  about  the  same  size  as  Buffalo,  and 
like  Buffalo  it  draws  much  of  its  light,  heat,  and  power 
from  Niagara  Falls.  It  is  a  beautiful  city,  and  is  a  large 
railway,  commercial,  and  manufacturing  center. 

Montreal  is  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  miles  from 
Toronto.  It  might  be  called  the  New  York  of  Canada, 
for  it  is  the  chief  seaport  and  chief  commercial  and  finan- 
cial center.  The  city  is  situated  on  an  island  formed  by 
the  junction  of  the  Ottawa  and  St.  Lawrence  rivers.  It 
is  more  than  six  hundred  miles  inland  from  the  Atlantic 


438  NORTH  AMERICA 

Ocean,  by  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  but  the  largest  sea- 
going vessels  can  come  to  Montreal.  This  gives  Canada 
an  ocean  port  far  in  the  interior. 

In  Montreal,  we  take  taxicabs  and  ride  down  to  the 
wharves  which  line  the  St.  Lawrence  for  more  than  a  mile. 
Huge  ocean  steamers  are  coming  in  and  going  out,  and  we 
see  immense  cargoes  of  grain  which  have  been  brought 
down  from  Port  Arthur  through  the  Welland  Canal  being 
transferred  to  other  vessels  for  Europe. 

Leaving  the  river,  we  drive  through  the  city  to  the  foot 
of  Mount  Royal,  the  hill  from  which  Montreal  was  named. 
It  is  about  three  hundred  feet  high,  and  we  ride  to  the  top 
on  an  inclined  railway  like  those  on  Pikes  Peak  and  Mount 
Washington.  The  view  is  magnificent.  To  the  south 
and  southwest  we  can  see  our  own  green  Adirondacks 
with  their  peaks  kissing  the  sky.  Below  us  lies  the  city, 
its  wide  streets  bordered  by  trees,  with  its  great  churches, 
its  huge  skyscrapers,  and  its  many  factories  and  grain 
elevators.  The  wide,  silvery  St.  Lawrence  flows  before  us, 
and  we  notice  the  Victoria  Bridge,  an  openwork  steel  struc- 
ture, with  double  tracks,  carriage  ways,  and  walks  for 
pedestrians.  It  rests  upon  piers  or  pillars  of  stone,  the 
upper  sides  of  which  extend  out  into  the  river  in  the  shape 
of  great  plowshares  in  order  to  cut  the  ice  when  it  rushes 
against  them  in  the  spring. 

Winter  in  Canada  is  the  jolliest  time  of  the  year.  The 
air  is  cold  and  dry  and  the  snow  lies  upon  the  ground  for 
months.  There  are  skating,  snowshoeing,  and  toboggan- 
ing. Every  city  has  its  skating  rink  and  every  town  its 
snowshoe  club,  each  member  of  which  has  his  own  uni- 
form consisting  of  a  bright-colored  blanket  coat  with 
a  hood  or  cowl  on  it  fastened  to  the  neck  so  that  it  may 
be  drawn  up  over  the  head.  The  children  run  over  the 


EASTERN  CANADA 


439 


snow,  playing  games  in  the  moonlight.    They  sing  as  they 
play,  and  the  sight  is  a  pretty  one. 

Tobogganing  is  enjoyed  by  men,  women,  and  children. 
The  toboggan  is  a  thin  piece  of  board  about  eighteen  inches 
wide  and  from  four  to  eight  feet  long.  The  board  is  turned 
up  at  the  front  end.  It  has  a  smooth  bottom,  and  when 
placed  on  the  edge  of  a  hill  with  one  or  more  passengers 


Toboggan  slide  in  Quebec.    The  city  is  built  partly  beside  the 

river  and  partly  on  the  hill  above  it.    The  toboggans  fly  down 

the  hill  for  a  half  mile  or  more. 

seated  upon  it,  it  will  rush  down  over  the  glassy  snow 
with  the  speed  of  an  express  train.  The  steersman  sits  in 
the  rear,  directing  the  course  of  the  board  with  his  foot. 
If  he  makes  a  mistake  the  toboggan  with  all  upon  it  may 
be  turned  upside  down  in  the  snow. 


440  NORTH  AMERICA 

LXV.  QUEBEC  —  THE  MARITIME  PROVINCES 

IN  our  travels  through  Eastern  Canada  we  find  that 
many  of  the  people  are  French.  In  the  province  and 
city  of  Quebec  most  of  the  inhabitants  are  of  French 
descent.  French  is  spoken  by  almost  everyone  on  the 
streets  of  Montreal,  and  at  the  government  offices  we  find 
that  all  official  notices  are  printed  in  both  English  and 
French.  The  signs  over  the  stores  are  in  the  two  lan- 
guages, and  most  of  the  newspapers  are  printed  in  French. 
The  market  is  supplied  with  vegetables  by  French- Cana- 
dian farmers,  and  the  talk  there  makes  one  think  of  the 
markets  of  Paris. 

For  a  long  time  this  part  of  Canada  was  a  possession  of 
France,  and  it  was  a  question  whether  the  French  or  the 
British  would  control  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  northern 
part  of  the  continent.  In  1759,  during  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  the  British  soldiers  under  General  Wolfe 
climbed  the  heights  upon  which  the  city  of  Quebec  is 
built  and  captured  it.  The  British  conquered  the  country, 
and  in  1763  Canada  was  formally  annexed  to  the  British 
Empire.  It  is  still  a  dependency  of  Great  Britain,  although, 
as  we  have  seen,  its  people  practically  govern  themselves. 

As  we  steam  down  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Montreal,  we 
are  interested  in  the  stories  we  hear  of  the  fight  at  Quebec, 
and  we  stop  there  to  have  a  look  at  the  city,  and  stroll 
about  over  the  battlefield.  The  town  is  so  well  fortified 
by  nature  that  it  has  been  called  the  American  Gibraltar. 
It  is  built  partly  upon  a  rocky  bluff  three  hundred  feet 
above  the  water,  and  there  are  forts  on  the  rocks  near  the 
city,  and  also  on  the  heights  on  the  opposite  bank,  so  that 
it  would  be  almost  impossible  for  a  foreign  battleship  to  pass 
through  and  go  on  up  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 


Scene  in  Quebec.    The  city  has  many  narrow  streets  and  old-fashioned 

houses. 
441 


442  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  battlefield  of  the  French  and  the  British  was  the 
Plains  of  Abraham,  just  back  of  Quebec.  As  we  stand 
upon  it  our  guides  tell  us  that  both  of  the  commanding 
generals  were  mortally  wounded  during  the  engagement. 
General  Wolfe,  the  leader  of  the  British  forces,  died  on 
the  field,  having  been  hit  three  times.  General  Mont- 
calm',  who  led  the  French,  was  struck  twice,  and  was 
carried  into  Quebec,  where  at  five  o'clock  next  morning 
he  died.  This  battle  was  fought  September  13,  1759. 
Soon  afterwards  the  French  rule  in  North  America  came 
to  an  end. 

Quebec  is  much  like  an  old  town  of  France.  It  has 
narrow  streets  which  -wind  their  way  up  and  down  hill, 
and  as  we  go  through  them  we  can  hardly  believe  that  we 
are  on  the  hustling,  bustling  North  American  continent. 
One  ol  the  modes  of  conveyance  is  by  the  calash',  a  one- 
horse  vehicle  with  two  wheels  and  a  body  that  rests  upon 
springs  on  the  shafts.  We  hire  calashes  and  ride  through 
the  lower  town,  visiting  the  market,  and  then  climb  the 
hills  to  have  a  look  at  the  public  buildings,  convents,  and 
churches.  We  stroll  upon  Dufferin  Terrace,  on  the  edge 
of  the  cliffs  several  hundred  feet  above  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  then  go  out  to  the  citadel  to  watch  the  drill  of  the 
soldiers. 

Our  next  trip  takes  us  into  the  Maritime  Provinces 
We  go  to  Nova  Scotia,  visit  New  Brunswick,  and  stop 
awhile  in  Prince  Edward  Island  to  see  the  farms  on  which 
foxes  are  raised  for  their  furs.  We  then  cross  over  into 
Newfoundland,  and  go  with  a  fishing  schooner  out  to  the 
Grand  Banks  to  the  greatest  cod-fishing  grounds  of  the 
world.  Here  under  the  shallow  sea  is  a  plain  about  two 
hundred  miles  long  and  seventy  miles  wide,  where  cod- 
fish, herring,  and  mackerel  come  by  millions  to  feed.  These 


THE  MARITIME  PROVINCES  443 

fish  are  fond  of  cold  water,  and  the  Arctic  current,  which 
flows  over  the  banks,  brings  down  the  slime  containing  the 
sea  life  that  forms  their  favorite  food.  The  cod  are  the 
most  important.  They  are  caught  in  quantities  and  sent 
all  over  the  world. 

Most  of  the  time  the  Banks  are  covered  with  fogs, 
and  as  huge  icebergs  sometimes  float  over  them,  and  the 
steamers  on  their  way  to  and  from  Europe  cross  them, 
the  fishing  is  dangerous.  The  Grand  Banks  are  free  to 
the  fishermen  of  all  the  world,  and  vessels  from  our  country 
and  other  lands  compete  with  those  of  Canada  in  catching 
fish. 

The  air  is  pure  and  the  fresh  breezes  from  the  Atlantic, 
flavored  with  salt,  fill  us  with  a  desire  to  be  again  on  the 
sea.  There  are  steamers  at  the  wharves  and  we  have  no 
trouble  in  finding  one  to  carry  us  southward  to  Boston. 
From  there  we  go  by  rail  to  New  York  and  take  passage 
upon  a  ship  for  Vera  Cruz  (va'ra  kroos'),  the  chief  sea- 
port of  Mexico. 

1.  Pay  a  visit  to  Ottawa  and  the  Parliament  Building.    Compare 
the  government  of  Canada  with  that  of  the  United  States. 

2.  Locate  Toronto,  and  compare  it  with  a  great  United  States  city 
near  by.    By  what  water  power  are  many  of  its  factories  run?    De- 
scribe this  power,  and  tell  why  Canada  has  more  of  it  than  the  United 
States.     (See  page  279.) 

3.  Why  might  Montreal  be  called  the  New  York  of  Canada?   De- 
scribe the  advantages  of  its  location. 

4.  During  what  season  would  you  like  to  visit  Canada?    Why? 

5.  Where  is  Quebec?    Why  does  it  have  so  many  French  people? 
What  great  battle  took  place  there?    How  is  the  city  defended? 

6.  What  great  fishing  grounds  are  found  in  eastern  Canada?    What 
is  the  principal  fish  caught  there  for  the  markets?    How  is  the  fishing 
done?    (See  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Fed,"  page  157.) 

7.  Find  New  Caledonia  on  the  map  and  describe  it.    (See  Car- 
penter's "Australia  and  Islands  of  the  Seas.") 


444 


MEXICO  445 

LXVI.  MEXICO  —  GENERAL  VIEW 

WE  are  in  Mexico  this  morning.  We  have  jumped 
from  the  north  temperate  zone  into  the  tropics.  As 
we  sailed  southward  from  New  York,  the  weather  grew 
warmer  and  warmer.  We  soon  entered  the  Gulf  Stream, 
and  made  our  way  against  the  current  until  we  passed 
through  Florida  Strait  and  crossed  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
We  sailed  over  the  Gulf  not  far  north  of  the  Peninsula 
of  Yucatan  (yo~6-ka-tan')  and  came  to  anchor  inside  the 
breakwater  at  the  piers  of  Vera  Cruz.  We  are  now  in  the 
hot  lands  of  our  sister  republic.  There  are  palm  trees  and 
tropical  plants  in  the  gardens,  and  outside  the  city  are 
plantations  of  bananas  and  sugar  cane.  We  see  orange 
and  lemon  trees  everywhere,  and  there  are  many  coconut 
palms  on  the  coast. 

Let  us  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  this  new  land  before 
we  explore  it.  Mexico  does  not  look  large  on  the  map,  but 
it  is  one  fifth  the  size  of  British  America.  Where  the  coun- 
try joins  the  United  States,  the  distance  across  it  is  almost 
as  great  as  from  New  York  to  Denver;  and  from  El  Paso 
in  Texas  to  Merida  (ma're-tka)  in  Yucatan,  by  land,  the  dis- 
tance is  much  greater.  The  coastline  of  Mexico  on  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  and  Pacific  Ocean  is  so  long  that  if  joined  end  to 
end  it  would  reach  from  San  Francisco  to  London  with 
some  miles  to  spare. 

And  now  how  does  Mexico  look  as  it  is  spread  out  before 
us?  Is  it  not  like  a  great  horn  with  its  roots  in  the  United 
States  boundary  and  its  tip  in  the  Yucatan  Channel?  The 
land  is  low  along  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean;  and  from  there  it  rises  steeply  to  the  top  of 
the  great  highland  of  mountains  and  plateaus  which  runs 
through  western  North  America  from  Panama  to  far-off 


CARP.    N.    AMER. 


446  NORTH  AMERICA 

Alaska.  In  Mexico  this  highland  is  a  wide  plateau  with 
many  high  mountains  rising  above  it.  On  the  average 
it  is  more  than  a  mile  above  the  sea,  so  that  it  has  the 
most  delightful  of  climates. 

It  is  only  in  the  lowlands  of  Mexico  that  the  weather  is 
tropical.  We  have  already  found  out  that  altitude  has 
quite  as  much  to  do  with  the  climate  of  a  place  as  its 
.nearness  to  the  equator.  As  we  climb  the  hills  from  the 
coast,  we  soon  come  into  the  temperate  regions,  or  terra 
templada  (tyer'ra  tem-pla/tfea)  as  the  Mexicans  call  it,  and 
should  we  ascend  to  the  top  of  the  mountains  we  should 
reach  the  iierra  fria  (fre'a),  or  cold  land,  parts  of  which 
are  covered  with  ice  the  year  round.  The  hot  lands  of  the 
coast  are  known  as  the  lien  a  caliente  (ka-lyen'te). 

A  great  part  of  our  traveling  will  be  done  upon  the 
plateau,  for  that  region  contains  most  of  the  land  and 
has  a  temperate  climate  so  that  most  of  the  people  live 
there.  We  shall  find  the  weather  there  much  like  that  of 
our  June  all  the  year  round.  There  is  no  winter,  but  a  wet 
and  a  dry  season,  neither  of  which  is  unpleasant.  If  we  are 
at  Mexico  city  during  the  wet  season,  we  shall  be  safe  in 
going  out  without  our  umbrellas  until  about  two  o'clock 
p.  m.,  and  after  that  we  can  move  about  between  showers 
until  nightfall,  when  the  sky  will  be  clear  again. 

The  different  altitudes  of  Mexico  give  all  sorts  of  crops. 
Sugar,  cotton,  and  cacao  grow  well  along  the  coast,  and 
there  we  find  bananas,  pineapples,  and  vanilla  beans. 
A  little  higher  up  are  orchards  of  cacao,  and  of  lemons 
and  oranges,  and  also  coffee  plantations.  The  plateau 
is  largely  a  desert  covered  with  sage  brush  and  cactus.  It 
has  many  irrigated  farms  which  produce  much  the  same 
crops  as  our  central  states.  It  has  corn,  wheat,  and  other 
grains,  and  beans  are  grown  almost  everywhere.  Corn 


A  roadside  market   in   Mexico,  for  vegetables   and  fruits  of   the 

temperate  as  well  as  the  torrid  zone.    Notice  the  men's  hats  with 

brims  a  foot  wide. 

447 


448  NORTH  AMERICA 

and  beans  form  a  large  part  of  the  food  of  the  people. 
Much  of  the  plateau  is  divided  into  great  ranches,  and 
cattle  and  sheep  in  great  numbers  graze  upon  the  high 
plains. 

Mexico  is  a  land  of  rich  mines.  It  produces  more  than 
one  fourth  of  all  the  silver  of  the  world.  It  has  also  large 
deposits  of  gold,  lead,  copper,  and  zinc.  It  has  one  silver 
mine,  the  Veta  Madre  (va'ta  ma'dra)  Lode  at  Guanajuato 
(gwa-na-hwa'to) ,  which  has  produced  almost  as  much  silver 
as  the  famous  Comstock  mine  we  saw  on  our  Western 
Highland. 

But  what  sort  of  people  has  Mexico?  We  can  see  types  of 
the  different  kinds  here  in  Vera  Cruz,  but  we  should  have 
to  travel  over  the  whole  country  to  appreciate  them  and 
know  what  they  do.  Mexico  has  over  fifteen  million 
inhabitants.  It  has  more  people  than  all  British  America, 
and  about  one  seventh  as  many  as  we  have  in  the  United 
States.  Only  about  one  fifth  of  the  people  are  pure  whites, 
the  descendants  of  the  Spaniards  who  conquered  the 
country  shortly  after  it  was  discovered.  The  remainder 
are  either  pure  Indians,  or  the  descendants  of  whites 
and  Indians.  There  are  more  than  five  million  pure  Indians 
in  Mexico,  which  is  about  twenty  times  as  many  as  we 
have  in  our  country.  The  Mexican  Indians,  however, 
have  always  been  more  civilized  than  most  of  the  red 
race  north  of  the  Rio  Grande,  and  to-day  they  live  almost 
altogether  by  farming  or  labor  of  one  kind  or  another. 
The  language  of  the  people  is  Spanish,  which  is  spoken 
by  most  of  the  Indians  as  well  as  by  the  whites. 

As  we  go  over  Mexico  we  shall  find  that  a  large  part  of 
the  country  is  cultivated.  The  good  lands  are  divided  up 
into  farms,  and  there  are  many  cities  and  towns  with 
factories  and  other  industrial  establishments.  There  are 


FROM  VERA  CRUZ  TO  MEXICO  CITY  449 

several  long  trunk  lines  of  railway  which  connect  the 
country  with  the  United  States.  Many  of  the  cities  and 
towns  are  lighted  by  electricity.  Most  of  the  country  is 
civilized,  although  within  the  past  few  years  there  have 
been  many  revolutions  against  the  government,  and  on 
this  account  the  people  have  not  advanced  as  they  should. 

2. 


LXVII.    FROM  VERA  CRUZ  TO  MEXICO  CITY 

ENDING  at  Vera  Cruz,  we  seem  to  be  in  another 
world.  The  faces  of  the  people  are  darker  than  ours. 
We  cannot  speak  Spanish,  and  must  have  a  guide  who 
understands  English  to  take  us  about.  Many  of  the 
ladies  we  see  on  the  streets  are  clad  all  in  black;  and  some 
have  lace  shawls  over  their  heads  like  those  worn  by  the 
women  of  Spain.  Some  of  the  men  from  the  country  wear 
hats  with  brims  a  foot  wide,  and  bands  of  silver  and  gold 
as  thick  as  our  thumbs.  They  have  jackets  embroidered 
with  silver,  leather  belts  from  which  silver-mounted  re- 
volvers hang,  and  trousers  ornamented  with  stripes  of 
silver  buttons. 

We  take  motor  cars  and  ride  through  the  streets.  The 
roofs  are  flat  and  we  see  very  few  chimneys.  Almost  all 
over  Mexico  the  people  use  charcoal  for  cooking,  and  here 
at  Vera  Cruz  it  is  so  hot  one  does  not  need  a  fire  to  keep 
warm. 

How  gay  the  town  is  !  The  walls  of  the  houses  are  painted 
in  bright  reds,  yellows,  and  blues.  The  houses  stand  on 
the  edge  of  the  sidewalks,  and  the  windows  of  the  ground 
floor  have  iron  bars  like  those  of  a  prison.  There  is  a 


450  NORTH  AMERICA 

great  square  or  plaza  in  the  center  of  the  town,  and  about 
this  are  many  fine  buildings. 

Going  out  into  the  country,  we  ride  for  miles  by  groves 
of  palm  trees,  in  the  tops  of  which  hang  coconuts.  We 
pass  thickets  of  bamboo  cane,  whose  feathery  branches 
extend  high  above  the  roofs  of  the  cars.  We  see  here  and 
there  a  mahogany  or  an  ebony  tree,  and  our  guide  points 
out  the  vines  which  he  says  bear  the  vanilla  bean.  It 
as  from  these  beans  that  we  get  the  extract  used  in  flavor- 
ing ice  cream  and  cake.  When  we  take  a  vanilla  soda 
we  are  drinking  something  from  Mexico. 

The  forests  are  interesting.  They  are  full  of  curious 
flowers,  and  there  are  so  many  orchids  and  other  rare 
plants  hanging  to  the  trunks  and  the  branches,  that  we 
could  have  a  carload  for  the  picking.  There  are  birds  of 
bright  colors  flying  about  through  the  trees,  and  the  mock- 
ing birds  whistle  at  us  as  we  go  by. 

Coming  back  to  Vera  Cruz,  we  take  the  train  for  Mexico 
city.  We  cross  the  lowlands  and  find  the  ascent  to  the 
plateau  so  steep  that  a  double  locomotive  is  used.  In  one 
place  we  rise  a  thousand^  feet  in  twenty  miles,  and  in  an- 
other four  thousand  feet  in  twenty-nine  miles.  The  great 
engine  drags  us  on  through  tunnel  after  tunnel,  now  twist- 
ing this  way  and  now  winding  that,  until  at  last,  having 
lifted  us  more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  sea,  it 
lands  us  at  Esperanza  (es-pa-ran'sa),  where  we  stop  for 
lunch. 

We  are  now  at  the  beginning  of  the  plateau  which  forms 
the  greater  part  of  Mexico.  During  our  climb  we  have 
gone  through  a  half  dozen  different  climates.  Just  out- 
side Vera  Cruz  we  passed  through  fields  of  pineapples, 
the  pink  bodies  of  which  shone  out  against  the  dark  earth. 
At  one  of  the  stations,  some  Indian  women  brought  the 


FROM  VERA  CRUZ  TO  MEXICO  CITY  451 

fruit  to  the  cars.  It  was  fresher  and  riper  than  any  sold 
in  our  markets  and  much  more  delicious  than  any  we  had 
ever  tasted  before.  It  was  so  soft  that  we  ate  it  with 
spoons.  A  little  farther  on  we  passed  through  a  banana 
plantation,  with  coffee  bushes  under  the  shade  of  the 
bananas.  The  bushes  have  dark  green  leaves  and  bright 
red  berries  as  big  around  as  a  small  chestnut.  There  were* 
Indians  picking  the  berries  and  we  were  told  that  each 
berry  contains  two  of  the  seeds  which  form  the  coffee  of 
commerce. 

Coffee  plants  are  sprouted  in  nurseries,  and  then  set 
out  in  fields,  and  well  cultivated.  At  the  age  of  four  or 
five  years,  they  begin  to  produce  fruit  and  continue  to 
yield  for  many  years.  Each  bush  gives  from  one  to  five 
pounds  of  coffee  a  year.  After  the  berries  are  gathered, 
they  are  crushed  to  get  off  the  soft  pulpy  hulls,  and  the 
seeds  or  beans  are  then  dried  and  cleaned  for  the  market. 
Almost  all  of  our  coffee  comes  from  Brazil,  but  Mexico 
raises  fine  coffee,  and  we  see  large  plantations  along  the 
railway  about  Orizaba  (o-re-sa/ba)  on  our  way  from  the 
sea  to  the  plateau. 

Going  on  with  our  journey,  we  soon  reach  a  country 
which  reminds  us  of  our  Western  Highland.  The  land 
is  white  and  glaring,  and  for  miles  the  only  plants  are 
cactus  and  sagebrush.  As  we  ride  through  on  the  rail- 
roads, our  eyes  grow  sore  and  our  nostrils  are  filled  with  the 
dust  of  the  desert.  There  are  many  varieties  of  cactus. 
Some  of  us  have  seen  century  plants  in  our  hothouses  at 
home.  Mexico  has  a  species  of  this  plant  family,  which 
is  of  great  value  on  account  of  the  long  threads  or  fibers 
of  which  its  leaves  are  composed.  It  is  henequen  (hen'e- 
ken),  or  Sisal  hemp,  which  is  of  great  value  for  the  making 
of  binder  twine  and  ropes  of  all  kinds.  Much  of  our  wheat, 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Maguey  plants,  and  donkeys  carrying  pigskins  of  native  beer  toward 

Mexico  city. 

oats,  and  other  grain  is  bound  up  with  twine  made  of  the 
fibers.  The  Sisal  hemp  plant  grows  best  in  Yucatan.  We 
buy  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  tons  of  this  fiber  in  one 
year. 

Another  cactus  which  we  see  on  our  way  to  Mexico 
city  supplies  a  beer  of  which  the  Mexicans  are  fond.    This 


FROM   VERA  CRUZ  TO  MEXICO  CITY  453 

plant  is  the  maguey  (mag'wa),  which  grows  so  big  that  one 
plant  could  hardly  be  crowded  into  a  hogshead.  The 
maguey  has  leaves  from  six  to  eight  inches  thick,  which 
sprout  up  from  the  ground  to  the  height  of  ten  or  twelve 
feet,  and  in  some  cases  as  high  as  twenty  feet.  Inside  the 
leaves  lies  a  green  cone  as  big  around  as  a  peck  measure, 
and  when  this  cone  is  cut  out,  a  hole  about  the  size  of  a 
two-gallon  bowl  is  left. 

Into  this  bowl  the  sap  or  juice  from  the  leaves  runs 
down  in  streams,  a  single  plant  producing  several  gallons 
a  day.  At  first  the  juice  is  sweet,  and  milky  in  color. 
Within  a  short  time  it  turns  darker  and  begins  to  ferment, 
and  soon  becomes  a  beer  that  will  make  one  drunk  if  one 
takes  too  much  of  it.  The  sap  continues  to  flow  for  months, 
so  that  a  single  plant  may  produce  several  barrels  of  the 
liquor. 

1.  Locate  Mexico.    Trace  our  route  from  New  York  to  Vera  Cruz. 
Through  what  waters  do  we  go?    How  far  do  we  travel?    At  fifteen 
miles  per  hour,  how  long  is  the  voyage? 

2.  Compare  Mexico  in  size  and  population  with  British  America. 
With  the  United  States. 

3.  What  classes  of  people  make  up  the  present  population?    Com- 
pare the  Mexican  Indians  with  those  of  the  United  States.   What  is 
the  language  of  Mexico?    Why? 

4.  Describe  the  climate  and  the  vegetation  of  the  lowlands  of 
Mexico.    Of  the  plateau.    Where  are  the  banana  and  pineapple 
fields?   The  coffee  plantations?    What  is  coffee  and  how  is  it  grown? 
(For  further  information  see  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Fed," 
pages  297-308,  also  Carpenter's  "South  America,"  pages  293-301.) 

5.  Name  five  minerals  of  Mexico.    How  does  Mexico  rank  in  the 
world  in  the  production  of  silver? 

6.  Visit  Vera  Cruz  and  tell  what  you  see. 

7.  What  is  henequen?    Where  does  it  grow  best?    Why  are  our 
farmers  interested  in  it?    Trace  a  shipment  to  Minneapolis  via  New 
York.     What  is  maguey,  and  how  is  it  used? 


454  NORTH  AMERICA 

LXVIII.  THE  CAPITAL  OF  MEXICO 

WE  are  in  Mexico  city  this  morning.  We  arrived  here 
last  night,  having  come  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
three  miles  by  rail  from  Vera  Cruz  on  the  coast.  We  are 
now  in  the  heart  of  the  plateau,  about  halfway  between 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  We  are  almost 
a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  sea,  in  the  highest  of  the  great 
capitals  of  the  world.  Lassa  in  Tibet,  Quito  (ke'to)  in 
Ecuador,  and  Bogota'  in  Colombia,  are  the  only  capitals 
which  are  higher,  but  all  are  small  in  comparison. 

Mexico  is  the  largest  city  of  North  America  outside 
the  United  States.  It  is  a  magnificent  city,  lying  amid 
lakes  in  a  beautiful  and  almost  circular  valley,  upon  which 
look  down  some  of  the  highest  peaks  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can continent.  One  is  Popocatepetl  (po-po'ka-ta'pet'l), , 
from  whose  icy  summit  are  now  rising  volcanic  vapors, 
and  another  is  Ixtaccihuatl  (es-tak-se'hwat '!) ,  or  the 
White  Woman,  so  named  because  its  top  has  the  form  of 
a  sleeping  giantess  clad  in  perpetual  snow. 

Taking  a  taxi,  we  go  to  the  huge  cathedral  which  stands 
in  the  center  of  the  city.  We  can  climb  one  of  its  towers 
and  have  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  Mexican  capital.  Now 
we  have  entered  the  tower  and  felt  our  way  round  and 
round  through  the  darkness  up  the  steps  to  the  top. 
Where  we  come  out  we  are  two  hundred  feet  above  the 
plaza,  with  a  great  expanse  of  red  and  gray  buildings 
spread  out  all  about  us.  Beyond,  on  all  sides,  stretching 
far  away  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  is  a  beautiful  valley 
forty-five  miles  long  and  thirty  miles  wide,  with  a  half 
dozen  silvery  lakes  scattered  here  and  there  through  it. 

The  Mexican  capital  is  a  fair  type  of  many  of  the  cities 
of  Mexico,  and  this  view  gives  us  some  idea  also  of  the 


TKE  CAPITAL  OF  MEXICO  455 

smaller  towns  of  the  country.  As  the  city  shines  out  be- 
low us  it  looks  much  like  a  checkerboard.  The  streets 
cross  one  another  at  right  angles,  and  they  go  out  in  every 
direction  from  the  great  square  in  which  the  cathedral 
stands.  The  roofs  of  the  houses  are  flat,  and,  strange  to 
say,  there  are  no  chimneys  rising  above  them.  Not  a 
bit  of  smoke  comes  from  any  of  the  buildings,  for  the 
fuel  is  charcoal,  which  makes  no  smoke,  and  the  cooking 
is  done  in  little  clay  ovens.  There  are  but  few  furnaces, 
and  iron  kitchen  stoves  are  almost  unknown. 

From  the  roofs  of  some  of  the  houses  we  can  see  white 
and  gay-colored  patches  floating  to  and  fro  in  the  breeze. 
They  are  the  family  washings,  which  are  often  dried  on  the 
roofs.  Farther  out  in  the  suburbs,  upon  the  edges  of  the 
canals,  are  other  patches  of  white.  They  belong  to  the 
laundresses.  Much  of  the  washing  of  Mexico  is  done  in 
the  streams,  only  cold  water  being  used  to  get  the  clothes 
clean. 

Observe  how  the  houses  are  built.  Very  few  of  them  are 
of  more  than  three  stories  in  height,  but  some  cover  a 
great  deal  of  ground.  They  stand  close  to  the  sidewalks, 
and  consist  of  a  wall  of  rooms  built  around  a  little  court 
or  patio  (pat'yo).  Every  large  Mexican  house  has  a  court 
of  this  kind,  usually  with  flowers  and  trees  growing  in  it, 
and  in  many  patios  there  is  a  fountain. 

The  big  square  below  us  is  called  the  plaza.  There 
every  evening  a  band  plays,  and  the  people  come  to  stroll 
about  under  the  trees  to  visit  together  and  chat.  Such 
a  plaza  is  to  be  found  in  every  Mexican  city.  The  people 
are  fond  of  music  and  they  spend  much  time  out  of  doors. 

A  little  beyond  the  plaza  we  can  see  the  business  section 
of  the  city.  The  streets  are  wide  and  faced  with  fine  stores. 
Here  and  there  a  fine  public  building  rises  high  above  the 


456  NORTH  AMERICA 

other  structures,  and  we  see  many  large  theaters  and 
churches  and  schools.  Mexico  city  is  lighted  by  electricity 
furnished  by  water  power  not  far  away.  It  has  several 
thousand  arc  lights,  and  at  night  the  streets  are  like  day. 
There  are  trolley  cars  everywhere,  and  thousands  of  auto 
mobiles  and  motor  trucks. 

That  long  three-story  building  at  the  side  of  the  plaza' 
just  below  us  is  the  national  palace,  where  the  Congress 
of  Mexico  sits,  and  where  some  of  the  officers  of  the  govern- 
ment work.  Mexico  is  a  republic.  It  has  a  president 
and  a  congress.  There  are  twenty-eight  states,  two  terri- 
tories, and  a  federal  district.  It  is  in  the  national  palace 
that  the  president  has  his  offices,  and  in  the  same  building 
also  sit  some  of  the  cabinet  officers. 

But  let  us  go  down  from  the  cathedral  and  take  a  walk 
through  the  city.  It  is  now  high  noon,  and  the  streets 
are  almost  deserted.  Everything  closes  here  at 'midday. 
The  Mexicans  have  their  dinner  between  twelve  and  one, 
and  after  that  they  have  a  nap  and  a  chat  with  their  fami- 
lies before  they  go  back  to  work.  The  business  hours  are 
from  nine  to  twelve  in  the  morning  and  from  three  to 
six  in  the  afternoon. 

By  seven  o'clock  most  of  the  establishments  are  closed, 
and  the  evening  is  given  up  to  rest  or  to  pleasure.  The 
poorer  people  go  to  the  parks,  and  the  richer  drive  oui 
in  their  carriages  and  motor  cars  upon  the  Paseo  de  la 
Reforma  (pa-sa/6  da  la  ra-for'ma),  past  the  great  monu- 
ment to  Mexico's  independence.  The  concert  halls  and  the 
theaters  are  alive  with  light,  and  nearly  all  the  people 
seem  to  be  enjoying  themselves.  Among  the  favorite 
amusements  is  bullfighting.  This  takes  place  in  the  bull- 
ring, where  men  upon  horseback  and  on  foot  enrage  a  wild 
bull  and  kill  him  as  he  rushes  at  them  and  tries  to  gore  them 


Independence  Monument,  Mexico,  on  the  Paseo  de  la  Reforma, 

the  finest  avenue  of  the  city.   It  is  built  of  granite  and  Italian  marble, 

and  cost  twice  as  much  as  our  Washington  Monument. 

457 


458 


NORTH  AMERICA 


Street  peddlers   in    Mexico.     The   game  cocks   are   put  into  the 
baskets  head  first  so  that  they  cannot  peck  each  other.    The  corn- 
husks  are  sold  to  market-men  for  use  as  wrapping  paper. 

with  his  horns.  Many  thousands  of  men  and  women  go  to 
see  these  fights,  but  the  sport  is  cruel  and  would  not  be 
permitted  in  the  United  States. 

During  our  stay  in  the  city  we  go  out  shopping  and 
spend  some  time  in  the  markets.  The  signs  over  the 
stores  do  not  tell  us  what  is  sold  within.  A  barber  shop 
may  be  called  La  Perla,  or  "The  Pearl,"  and  a  candy 
store  may  have  a  sign  that  means  "The  White  Cat." 
One  glove  store  is  known  as  "The  Violets,"  and  a  grocery 
has  over  its  front  door  "The  Pearl  of  the  Occident."  We 
are  interested  in  the  places  where  hats  are  sold.  The 
headgear  is  of  all  sorts,  from  caps  and  hats  such  as  we 
wear  to  sombreros  (stim-bra/roz) ,  great  hats  as  big  around 
as  a  bicycle  wheel,  loaded  with  silver  and  gold  and  em- 
broidery, and  with  bands  of  gold  braid  around  the  crown. 


THE  AZTECS   AND  THE  INDIANS  OF  TO-DAY    459 

As  we  go  along  the  streets  we  meet  many  peddlers. 
One  of  the  strangest  is  a  man  selling  game  cocks,  which 
he  carries  about  on  his  back.  Each  cock  is  kept  in  a  bas- 
ket so  arranged  that  only  his  tail  can  be  seen.  These 
birds  like  to  fight  one  another,  and  if  they  could  reach 
their  heads  out  they  would  surely  be  pecking  at  every 
rooster  near  by. 

Other  strange  peddlers  we  meet  are  boys  driving  tur- 
keys which  they  sell,  as  it  were,  on  the  hoof.  There  are 
also  men  going  about  with  loads  of  dried  corn  husks  on 
their  backs.  These  are  sold  to  the  merchants,  who  use 
them  as  wrapping  paper.  Some  kinds  of  cooked  food, 
such  as  hot  tamales  (ta-ma/lez),  are  always  wrapped  up  in 
corn  husks. 

The  markets  of  Mexico  are  excellent.  They  are  to  be 
found  in  every  street  and  town.  Many  of  them  have  all 
the  fruits  of  the  torrid  and  temperate  zones.  Here  in 
Mexico  city  we  can  buy  a  pineapple  as  big  as  our  heads 
for  a  few  cents,  and  a  half  dozen  juicy  oranges  for  a  nickel. 


LXIX.  THE   AZTECS  AND  THE  INDIANS  OF 
TO-DAY 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  places  in  Mexico  city  is 
the  National  Museum.  It  has  many  relics  of  the 
Aztecs,  the  Indians  who  inhabited  the  country  at  the 
time  it  was  conquered  by  the  Spaniards  under  Hernando 
Cor'tes.  The  Aztecs  had  their  capital  where  Mexico 
city  now  is.  They  were  much  more  civilized  than  our 
Indians.  Many  of  them  had  comfortable  homes,  and 
the  king  had  great  palaces  beautifully  furnished. 


460  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  Aztecs  used  picture  writing  instead  of  letters  as  we 
do.  They  made  dyes,  and  were  expert  workers  in  metal. 
When  Cortes  landed  he  was  given  presents  of  vessels  of 
gold,  silver,  and  copper,  and  among  them  were  silver 
plates  as  big  around  as  a  bicycle  wheel. 

Cortes  landed  at  Vera  Cruz  and  sank  his  ships  to  show 
his  soldiers  they  must  conquer  or  die.  He  then  made  hir, 
way  up  to  the  plateau,  fighting  now  and  then  with  the 
Indians,  and  at  last,  in  November,  1519,  he  came  to  the 
capital.  He  made  the  Emperor  Montezuma  a  prisoner, 
and  after  some  terrible  battles  he  was  able  to  bring  Mexico 
under  Spanish  rule.  Spanish  governors  remained  in  con- 
trol for  about  three  hundred  years,  when  the  Mexicans 
rose  against  Spain  and  decided  to  rule  the  country  them- 
selves. They  declared  their  independence,  and  formed 
a  government  of  their  own,  which,  with  many  revolutions 
and  changes,  has  existed  from  that  time  to  this.  The 
government  is  now  a  republic  somewhat  like  our  own. 
The  history  of  Mexico  is  interesting,  and  we  decide  to  study 
it  when  we  go  home. 

The  Spaniards  practically  enslaved  the  Indians,  and 
many  of  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Aztecs  and  other 
tribes  are  little  more  than  slaves  to-day.  The  laws  have 
been  such  that  their  employers  have  been  able  to  keep 
them  in  debt,  and  for  this  reason  they  have  been  forced 
to  work  for  very  low  wages,  and  kept  pitiably  poor. 

Of  late  years  there  have  been  many  movements  in 
Mexico  to  better  these  conditions,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the 
time  will  come  when  the  large  estates  will  be  divided  so 
that  the  poorer  people  can  more  easily  have  farms  and 
homes  of  their  own.  Already  there  are  schools  in  all  the 
cities  and  towns,  and  also  in  many  of  the  villages.  Never- 
theless, a  large  proportion  of  the  Mexicans  can  neither 


THE  AZTECS  AND  THE  INDIANS  OF  TO-DAY     461 

read  nor  write,  and  their  condition  is  by  no  means  as  good 
as  it  should  be. 

We  see  many  Indians  in  Mexico  city,  and  we  shall  see 
them  everywhere  as  we  travel  over  the  country.  The 
men  dress  in  white  cotton  shirts  and  trousers,  with  their 
shirts  outside  their  trousers.  They  do  not  wear  stockings. 
Their  feet  are  shod  with  sandals  of  leather,  and  they  have 
broad-brimmed  hats  with  crowns  a  foot  high.  Some  of 
them  have  a  red  blanket  which  they  throw  about  their 
shoulders.  The  women  are  usually  barefooted  and  bare- 
headed. They  wear  dresses  of  white  cotton,  and  often 
a  shawl  which  is  drawn  over  their  heads  and  draped  about 
their  shoulders. 

The  homes  of  the  Indians  are  usually  huts  of  mud  or  stone, 
but  in  the  low  wooded  country  they  are  made  of  sticks 
tied  together  and  roofed  with  straw  thatch. 

The  farming  in  many  parts  of  the  country  is  very  crude. 
The  plow  is  often  little  more  than  a  short  stick,  and  it  is 
only  on  the  large  estates  that  modern  farm  machinery  is  used. 

Indian  corn  is  the  chief  food  of  the  poorer  Mexicans. 
Many  of  them  do  not  know  what  bread  is,  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  have  never  tasted  wheat  flour.  The  women 
often  grind  their  own  corn.  We  can  see  them  outside 
their  huts  kneeling  down  before  a  rough  slab  of  stone 
about  a  foot  wide  and  eighteen  inches  in  length.  The 
grains  of  corn,  having  been  soaked  in  lime  water  until 
they  are  soft,  are  laid  upon  this  slab,  and  the  women  roll 
a  round  stone  over  them,  mashing  them  into  a  paste  or 
dough.  This  dough  is  formed  by  hand  into  a  thick  cake 
and  is  cooked  upon  a  charcoal  fire.  So  made  it  is  known 
as  a  tortilla  (tor-tel'ya) .  It  is  eaten  with  butter,  and  some- 
times seasoned  with  salt  and  red  pepper.  We  taste  one. 
It  is  not  at  all  bad. 

CARP.   N.   AMER. — 28 


462  NORTH  AMERICA 

There  is  one  dish  that  is  well  served  in  every  house 
here.  This  is  black  beans,  or,  in  the  Mexican  language, 
frijoles  (frfe-ho'las).  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  have 
frijoles  at  the  close  of  a  meal.  The  Mexicans  make  fine 
candies,  and  delicious  chocolate  is  sold  everywhere. 


LXX.  WE  CLIMB   POPOCATEPETL  —  A  VISIT  TO 
THE  OIL  FIELDS 

DURING  our  stay  in  Mexico  city  we  go  out  by  rail- 
road to  the  town  of  Amecameca  (a-ma-ka-ma'ka), 
at  the  foot  of  Popocatepetl.  We  have  decided  to  climb 
the  mighty  volcano,  and  find  Indian  guides  at  the  station 
as  we  come  from  the  train.  They  give  us  long  staffs  shod 
with  iron  to  keep  us  from  falling,  and  carry  ropes  with  them 
to  help  us  over  the  ice  and  snow. 

For  the  first  few  hours  our  way  is  through  a  pine  forest. 
We  then  climb  hills  of  volcanic  rock,  wading  at  times 
through  loose,  shifting  black  sand.  It  grows  cooler  as  we 
rise,  and  the  trees  become  smaller  until  at  last  we  reach 
a  region  above  which  nothing  grows,  and  pass  over  the 
line  where  from  year's  end  to  year's  end  the  ice  never 
melts.  Just  below  this  the  snow  is  soft,  but  higher  up 
it  grows  harder  and  harder.  The  air  is  colder  and  thinner. 
How  our  hearts  beat !  If  we  go  too  fast  we  feel  faint  and 
shaky.  The  glare  of  the  sun  on  the  snow  dazzles  our  eyes, 
and  our  hands  are  torn  from  pulling  ourselves  from  point 
to  point  over  the  ice.  At  last  we  reach  the  top  and  stand 
on  the  edge  of  the  crater  of  one  of  the  greatest  volcanoes 
of  North  America. 

Popocatepetl  is  not  now  throwing  stones,  rock,  and  lava 
into  the  air.  It  is  not  in  violent  action,  but  it  is  always 


WE  CLIMB  POPOCATEPETL 


463 


vomiting  fumes  of  sulphur,  and  we  have  to  get  to  the 
windward  of  the  yellow  brimstone  vapor  which  rises  out 
of  the  great  hole  in  the  top  of  the  mountain  before  we  dare 
look  down  within. 

The  crater  is  almost  a  mile  wide  at  the  top,  and  more 
then  one  thousand  feet  deep.  The  walls  slope  inward, 
and  peeping  over  we  see  scores  of  Indians  gathering  the 


Crater  Lake,  Popocatepetl.    The  timbers  are  connected  with  a  hoist 
over  a  bluff  200  feet  high,  for  use  in  mining  sulphur  in  the  crater. 


464  NORTH  AMERICA 

sulphur  in  bags  and  carrying  it  on  ladders  up  to  the  top. 
From  there  it  is  slid  down  the  mountain  in  a  sort  of  a  chute. 
The  process  of  mining  seems  terribly  hard  in  comparison 
with  the  way  we  saw  sulphur  taken  out  of  the  ground  by 
machinery  at  Freeport  in  Texas. 

Leaving  the  Mexican  capital,  we  go  by  railroad  to 
different  parts  of  the  country,  visiting  the  principal  cities 
and  spending  some  time  on  the  great  haciendas  (a-syen'das) 
where  one  may  ride  on  horseback  all  day  and  not  come  to 
the  end  of  a  field  or  farm.  We  spend  much  time  in  the 
mountains  exploring  the  mines  of  gold,  silver,  and  copper, 
and  near  Durango  (doo-rang'go)  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  plateau,  we  see  a  mountain  of  iron  ore,  now  being  used 
in  making  steel. 

We  are  delighted  with  Oaxaca  (wa-ha/ka),  a  thriving 
town  a  little  more  than  a  day's  ride  by  train  south  of 
Mexico  city,  and  with  Guadalajara  (gwa-tha-la-ha/ra), 
a  beautiful  city  not  far  from  the  Pacific  coast.  We  go 
by  railroad  northward  over  the  plateau  to  the  great  silver- 
mining  towns  of  Guanajuato,  Zacatecas  (sa-ka-ta'kas), 
and  Chihuahua  (che-wa/wa),  stopping  on  the  way  to  visit 
the  quarries  where  men  are  taking  opals  out  of  the  rocks. 
We  each  buy  one  of  these  beautiful  stones  for  less  than  a 
dollar. 

We  visit  also  the  towns  of  Monterey  (mon-te-ra/)  and 
San  Luis  Potosi  (san-lob-es'po-to-se')  on  the  Mexican 
national  railway,  and  from  the  latter  go  over  a  branch 
line  to  the  port  of  Tampico  (tam-pe'ko),  on  the  Mexican 
border.  San  Luis  Potosi  is  the  largest  city  of  Mexico 
outside  the  capital,  and  Tampico  is  one  of  the  chief  oil 
ports  of  the  world. 

The  scenes  near  Tampico  remind  us  of  those  we  saw 
during  our  travels  in  Texas.  There  are  huge  oil  tanks 


466  NORTH  AMERICA 

outside  the  city,  and  in  the  country  about  is  a  forest  of 
derricks,  each  standing  above  an  oil  well.  Mexico  is  one 
of  the  most  important  oil  countries  of  the  world.  For 
hundreds  of  miles  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  running 
from  Tampico  almost  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  in  places  still 
farther  south,  are  great  deposits  of  petroleum  which  have 
produced  many,  many  million  barrels  of  oil.  The  output 
in  1919  alone  was  more  than  eighty  million  barrels,  and 
at  times  the  wells  of  the  republic  have  yielded  more  than 
one  million  barrels  in  one  day. 

Some  of  the  largest  oil  wells  of  the  world  have  been 
discovered  in  this  region.  One  near  Tampico,  when  the 
petroleum  was  struck,  sent  forth  a  stream  of  oil  that  rose 
to  the  height  of  four  hundred  feet  and  continued  to  pour 
forth  petroleum  at  the  rate  of  several  thousand  barrels 
an  hour  for  three  months  before  it  could  be  controlled.  The 
oil  filled  the  air  like  a  great  mist.  It  covered  the  rivers 
and  lakes  for  miles  about,  and  thousands  of  cattle  died 
of  thirst  because  they  would  not  drink  the  waters  coated 
with  petroleum.  Some  of  the  oil  flowed  out  to  the  sea,  and 
there  was  a  greasy  scum  on  the  Gulf  for  several  hundred 
miles  along  the  coast. 

We  find  many  oil  refineries  about  Tampico,  and  in  the 
harbor  we  see  tank  steamers  taking  on  fuel  oil,  kerosene, 
and  gasoline  for  shipment  abroad.  A  great  deal  of  the 
product  goes  to  our  country,  much  to  Europe,  and  some 
to  Panama  and  the  ports  of  South  America,  Australia, 
and  Asia. 

i.  Locate  Mexico  city.  Compare  it  with  others  of  the  world's 
loftiest  capitals.  Describe  some  of  its  features,  especially  the  build- 
ings and  streets.  Contrast  the  midday  scenes  of  an  American  city 
with  those  of  a  Mexican  city.  Take  a  ride  through  the  Mexican 
capital  and  tell  what  you  see. 


CENTRAL  AMERICA  467 

2.  Locate  Mt.  Popocatepetl  and  describe  our  trip  there.    Compare 
the  process  of  mining  sulphur  in  Mexico  with  that  we  saw  at  Free- 
port,  Texas.    What  is  a  volcano?    Name  a  famous  volcano  of  Italy. 
Of  Alaska.    Of  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

3.  What  is  the  government  of  Mexico?   Tell  something  about  the 
history  of  Mexico.    Who  was  Cortes?    Montezuma?    Who  were  the 
Aztecs?    Describe  the  Indians  of  to-day. 

4.  Where  are  the  oil  fields  of  Mexico?   What  is  the  chief  oil  port? 
How  is  the  oil  shipped  to  other  countries? 

5.  Locate  the  chief  cities  of  Mexico,  and  tell  something  for  which 
each  is  noted. 


LXXI.  CENTRAL  AMERICA  —  GENERAL  VIEW 

FROM  Tampico  we  steam  along  the  coast  to  Vera 
Cruz,  and  thence  go  south  by  railway  through  Mex- 
ico to  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  (ta-wan-ta-pek7) . 
Here  the  width  of  North  America  is  only  a  little  over  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  and  the  land  is  so  low  that  it 
was  once  proposed  to  build  a  ship  railway  from  coast  to 
coast  and  transport  great  steamers  from  one  ocean  to  the 
other  upon  it.  It  is  doubtful  whether  this  could  have 
been  done,  and  it  is  not  necessary  now  that  we  have  built 
the  Panama  Canal.  There  is,  however,  an  ordinary  rail- 
road across  Tehuantepec,  and  good  ports  on  each  side. 
It  is  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  and  some  of 
the  traffic  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  is  carried  that 
way.  The  port  on  the  Gulf  side  is  Puerto  Mexico  and  that 
on  the  Pacific  side  is  Salina  Cruz  (sa-le'na  kroos).  This 
is  the  shortest  railway  across  our  continent  except  the 
one  at  Panama  along  the  line  of  the  canal. 

Through  the  southern  part  of  the  isthmus  is  the  uncom- 
pleted Intercontinental  Railway,  which  it  is  hoped  some 


CENTRAL  AMERICA  469 

day  may  form  a  continuous  line  through  North  and  South 
America.  When  it  is  completed  one  may  be  able  to  go  from 
Alaska  to  the jtrjit^£Magelia.nJjy  train.  At  present  the 
northern  part  of  the  line  stops  in  Guatemala  (gwa-ta'-ma/- 
la),  although  many  other  parts  of  it  are  built  farther  south. 

We  get  on  the  cars  and  are  soon  across  the  border  in  one 
of  the  republics  of  Central  America. 

Central  America^  seems  to  be  a  small  part-ol  our  conti- 
nent as  we  look  at  the  map.  It  is  not  large  as  compared 
with  all  North  America,  but  it  has  so  much  land  that  if  it 
were  patched  together  and  dropped  down  in  the  United 
States  it  would  more  than  cover  Ohio,  Indiana,  Kentucky, 
and  Tennessee.  The  country  is  like  Mexico  in  that  it  has 
lowlands  along  the  coasts,  with  highlands  and  mountains 
between.  The  lowlands  are  tropical,  but  the  highlands 
are  temperate,  and  there  we  find  most  of  the  large  cities 
and  most  of  the  people. 

Central  America  is  ajand  of  republics.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  British  Honduras,  which  is  a  dependency  of  Great 
Britain,  it  Js  made  up  of  six  independent  governments, 
modeled  somewhat  on  the  plan  of  the  United  States. 
Each  country  has  its  own  president  and  congress  elected 
by  the  people,  and  each  is  divided-  into  states. 

The  republics^ are  tint  vpry  small.  Guatemala  at  the 
north^and  Nicara'gua  have  each  about  the  same  area  as 
New  York;  Honduras  is  larger  than  Tennessee;  and  Panama 
is  as  big  as  South  Carolina.  Costa  Rica  (kos'ta  re'ka) 
is  equal  to  four  states  as  large  as  Connecticut,  and  Salvador 
(sal-va-dor')  is  the  size  of  Maryland. 

Most  of  Central  America  is  rich  in  resources.  Its  moun- 
tains have  gold,  silver,  and  copper,  and  on  their  slopes  are 
plantations  of  coffee  and  cacao,  and  orchards  of  oranges 
and  lemons.  Coconuts  and  pineapples  grow  in  the  low- 


470 


NORTH  AMERICA 


lands,  and  near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  are  some  of  the  richest 
banana  lands  of  the  world.  We  visit  one  of  the  banana 
plantations  farther  on  in  our  travels. 


Schoolboys  of  Central  America.     The  Spanish  words  on  the  slate 
mean  "new  art." 

Everywhere  we  go  in  our  travels  in  Central  America  we 
meet  many  Indians.  They  remind  us  of  the  Indians  we 
saw  in  Mexico.  They  do  most  of  the  work  of  the  country. 
We  see  them  on  the  coffee  and  sugar  plantations,  we  buy 


A  TRIP  THROUGH  GUATEMALA  471 

of  them  in  the  markets,  and  often  pass  them  in  the  road- 
ways, carrying  great  loads  on  their  backs. 

The  population  of  Central  America  consists  of  the  whites, 
the  descendants  of  the  Spaniards;  the  Mestizos  (mes-te'- 
zoz),  the  descendants  of  Spaniards  who  intermarried  with 
the  Indians;  and  the  pure  Indians.  By  law  all  classes  of 
people  have  equal  rights,  and  everyone  is  supposed  to  vote 
and  to  have  a  part  in  the  government.  All  the  republics 
have  free  schools,  and  the  people  are  advancing  in  civiliza- 
tion and  wealth. 


LXXII.  A  TRIP  THROUGH  GUATEMALA 

ENTERING  the  republic  of  Guatemala,  we  ride  few 
many  miles  through  the  forests.  The  trees  are  trop- 
ical. We  see  many  tall  palms,  some  of  which  have  great 
bunches  of  coconuts  at  the  roots  of  the  long  leaves  that 
sprout  out  from  their  trunks  forty  or  fifty  feet  from  the 
ground.  We  see  rubber  trees,  and  the  trees  that  yield  the 
chicle  from  which  we  get  chewing  gum.  Now  and  then 
we  pass  a  great  mahogany,  and  there  are  other  hardwood 
trees  of  large  size,  the  names  of  which  we  do  not  know. 
Everywhere  the  forest  is  dense.  The  huge  trees  are  bound 
together  with  vines,  and  thousands  of  beautiful  orchids  and 
other  airplants  hang  from  their  branches.  There  are  many 
bright-colored  birds,  and  now  and  then  a  monkey  gibbers 
at  us  out  of  the  leaves. 

We  are  especially  interested  in  the  mahogany  trees. 
Central  America  is  one  of  the  lands  of  mahogany,  and  much 
of  our  finest  furniture  is  from  the  wood  of  these  forests. 
Logs  from  the  west  coast  are  shipped  south  to  the  Panama 


472  NORTH  AMERICA 

Canal  and  thence  to  our  Atlantic  ports.  Those  of  the  east 
coast,  where  the  best  forests^rej^gaJby^iip-te-Nevr  Orleans 
or  New  York  and  from  there  to  our  chief  furniture-making 
centers. 

During  our  trip  through  the  country  we  watch  men 
getting  the  mahogany  out  for  the  market.  The  lumbering 
is  not  done  as  in  our  country.  There  is  no  snow,  and  much 
of  the  wood  is  too  heavy  to  float.  The  mahogany  trees  do 
not  grow  close  together,  but  at  long  distances  apart.  The 
mahogany  hunters  climb  the  highest  trees  of  the  forest, 
and  pick  out  the  mahoganies  by  their  bright-colored  leaves. 
The  trees  grow  to  a  great  height,  and  not  a  few  rise  sixty 
feet  above  the  ground  before  the  branches  begin.  Some  are 
so  large  that  five  men  joining  arms  cannot  reach  around 
one  of  them.  No  trees  are  cut  which  are  less  than  eight 
feet  in  circumference,  and  the  men  tell  us  a  mahogany  tree 
must  be  three  centuries  old  before  it  is  ready  for  lumber. 

In  some  places  we  see  men  tapping  rubber  trees.  They 
cut  out  strips  of  bark  the  whole  length  of  the  trunk,  and 
the  latex,  or  rubber  juice,  which  at  first  looks  like  milk, 
runs  down  into  a  bowl  made  at  the  roots.  It  makes  us 
think  of  the  turpentine  farms  we  saw  in  our  southern  states. 
After  the  latex  has  been  collected  it  is  hardened  by  smoke 
into  cakes  for  the  market. 

Going  on  east  through  Guatemala,  we  soon  reach  the 
Central  Railway,  which  takes  us  up  to  the  plateau.  We 
pass  through  orchards  of  cacao  trees,  from  which  we  get 
chocolate,  and  plantations  of  coffee,  which  continue  all 
the  way  to  the  highlands.  The  country  is  mountainous. 
We  are  in  sight  of  volcanoes  all  the  way  up,  and  at  Lake 
Amatitlan  (a-ma-te-tlan')  the  two  mighty  volcanoes  of 
Agua  (a'gwa)  and  Fuego  (fwa'go),  or  Water  and  Fire,  look 
down  upon  us. 


Picking  coffee.    Each  ripe  coffee  berry  is  about  the  size  and  appear- 
ance of  a  cherry.    The  coffee  we  buy  is  the  seeds  in  the  berries. 


473 


474  NORTH  AMERICA 

Continuing  our  trip,  we  are  soon  in  Gautemala  city,  the 
capital  of  the  country.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  cities  of 
Central  America,  although  it  has  now  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand  population.  It  is  surrounded  by  volcanoes,  and 
only  a  few  years  ago  it  had  a  terrible  earthquake  which  de- 
stroyed many  buildings  and  killed  some  of  the  people. 

Indeed,  Guatemala  city  has  always  had  to  fight  for  its 
life  with  volcanoes.  It  was  first  located  on  the  slope  of 
Mount  Agua,  and  earthquakes  and  the  eruptions  of  that 
mountain  destroyed  it  again  and  again,  until  the  people 
moved  the  city  about  thirty  miles  distant  to  where  it  is 
now.  That  was  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  agor 
and  the  people  thought  they  were  safe  until  the  last  great 
earthquake  occurred. 

To-day  many  of  the  structures  destroyed  then  have  been 
rebuilt,  and  no  one  would  imagine  that  the  city  was  one 
of  the  oldest  towns  of  our  hemisphere.  The  first  capital  of 
Guatemala  was  for  a  long  time  the  chief  Spanish  city  south 
of  Mexico.  It  was  a  center  of  education,  business,  and 
culture  before  we  had  cities  of  any  size  in  the  United  States. 
It  had  a  cathedral  and  colleges  when  the  boys  of  the  Puritan 
Fathers  were  driving  the  cows  along  the  paths  which  after- 
wards formed  the  streets  of  old  Boston. 

We  spend  a  short  time  in  Guatemala  city.  It  reminds  us 
of  the  Mexican  capital,  and  it  is  a  fair  type  of  the  capitals 
of  the  Central  American  republics.  The  houses  are  built 
low  on  account  of  the  earthquakes,  and  some  of  them  cover 
a  great  deal  of  ground.  They  consist  of  tiers  of  buildings 
running  around  courts  or  patios  in  which  sometimes  are 
gardens  and  fountains.  They  are  painted  in  the  brightest 
of  colors,  and  their  red  tiled  roofs  shine  out  under  the  clear 
sun  of  the  plateau. 

The  city  has  many  good  school  buildings,  and  when  we 


One  of  the  stone  monuments  erected  by  the  ancient  Mayas  at 

Quirigua,  Guatemala.    The  Mayas  made  records  of  dates  and  events 

by  picture  writing  on  monuments  like  this. 

475 


476  NORTH  AMERICA 

visit  them  the  children  come  out  and  go  through  a  drill 
carrying  American  and  Guatemalan  flags  in  our  honor. 
They  sometimes  meet  us  with  flags  at  the  stations,  and 
seem  glad  to  welcome  us  to  Central  America. 

Leaving  Guatemala  city  by  train,  we  ride  across  the 
plateau  and  down  the  mountains  to  Puerto  Barrios  (pwer'- 
to  bar-re'os),  passing  through  the  ruins  of  Quirigua  (ke- 
re'gwa),  which  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  years  ago  was 
one  of  the  greatest  cities  of  the  ancient  Ma'yas,  a  nation  of 
Central  American  Indians.  Some  of  its  ruined  temples 
have  been  cut  out  of  the  jungles,  and  the  great  stone  mon- 
uments, covered  with  carvings  which  are  still  to  be  seen 
(page  475),  show  us  that  these  people  must  have  had  a 
civilization  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  Aztecs  of  Mexico. 


LXXIII.  THE   BANANA   INDUSTRY  —  FROM 
PUERTO   BARRIOS   TO  BALBOA 

WE  ride  through  great  banana  plantations  in  the  low- 
lands of  Guatemala  on  our  way  to  Puerto  Barrios, 
and  we  see  bananas  growing  in  other  lowlands  as  we  move 
down  the  coast  of  Honduras  and  Nicaragua  to  Limon  (le- 
mon') in  Costa  Rica.  There  are  tens  of  thousands  of  acres  of 
bananas  not  far  from  Limon,  and  other  great  tracts  devoted 
to  this  fruit  in  the  northern  part  of  the  republic  of  Panama. 
Indeed,  Central  America  might  be  called  Banana  Land, 
for  it  produces  more  bananas  than  any  other  part  of  the 
world.  Most  of  the  bananas  sold  in  the  United  States 
come  from  here.  The  principal  plantations  belong  to  one 
of  our  great  fruit  companies,  which  has  steamers  that  sail 
weekly  from  New  Orleans,  New  York,  Boston,  and  other 


THE  BANANA  INDUSTRY 


477 


ports  for  Central  America  and  come  back  loaded  with 
bananas.  A  single  ship  will  carry  many  thousands  of 
bunches.  It  brings  its  cargo  to  our  ports,  and  the  bananas 
are  unloaded  by  the  aid  of  machines,  and  put  in  cold  stor- 


Cutting  bananas.    The  fruit  grows  in  huge  bunches.    It  is  cut  green 
and  ripens  on  its  way  to  market. 

age  cars  to  be  shipped  by  the  carload  and  sometimes  the 
trainload  to  different  parts  of  the  United  States.     The 
bananas  sold  in  the  stores  near  our  homes  probably  came 
from  Central  America. 
During  our  stay  at  Limon  we  go  by  railway  out  through 


478  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  plantations,  and  ride  for  miles  seeing  nothing  but  ba- 
nanas on  both  sides  of  the  track.  The  wide  leaves  brush 
against  the  car  windows,  and  we  can  see  the  great  bunches 
of  green  fruit  hanging  down  from  the  tall  stems  on  which 
they  grow.  All  of  the  bananas  are  green,  and  we  look  in 
vain  to  find  any  ripe  yellow  fruit.  The  fruit  is  cut  green, 
and  allowed  to  ripen  on  its  long  trip  to  the  markets.  A 
single  plant  produces  but  one  bunch  of  fruit,  and  a  single 
bunch  may  have  one  hundred  and  fifty  bananas  upon  it. 
So  when  we  learn  that  the  United  States  eats  sixty  million 
bunches  of  bananas  every  year,  we  get  some  idea  of  what 
an  enormous  business  this  is. 

Frprn  Limon  we  go  by  railroad  to  San  Jose  (san-h6-sa')r 
the  fine  little  capital  of  Costa  Rica,  situated  upon  the  pla- 
teau about  midway  between  the  two  oceans,  and  thence 
make  our  way  down  over  the  mountains  to  the  port  of 
Punta  Arenas  (poon'ta  a-ra'nas)  on  the  Pacific.  From 
there  we  sail  north  to  Nicaragua,  and  take  a  train  to  Mana'- 
gua,  the  capital,  not  far  from  Lake  Nicaragua.  Through 
this  lake  a  canal  was  once  planned  to  cross  Central 
America,  but  was  given  up  when  the  Panama  Canal  was 
constructed. 

The  route  for  this  canal  is  low,  and  follows  a  river  and 
the  lake  for  most  of  the  way  across,  so  that  engineers  say 
a  canal  could  easily  be  built.  This  canal,  however,  would 
have  been  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles  long,  or  more 
than  three  times  the  length  of  the  Panama  Canal. 

From  Managua  we  go  northward  by  rail  and  then 
steamer  to  the  Gulf  of  Fonseca  (fon-sa'ka),  and  there 
get  mules  which  take  us  to  Tegucigalpa  (ta-goo-se-gal'pa) . 
the  capital  of  Honduras.  This  city  is  far  in  the  interior, 
but  it  is  high  and  healthful  and  the  people  claim  it  is  one 
of  the  best  places  in  all  North  America. 


SALVADOR  AND   PANAMA  479 

Coming  back,  we  make  a  short  stay  at  San  Salvador, 
the  capital  of  the  state  of  Salvador.  Here  is  another  fine 
town  with  many  buildings,  built  low  on  account  of  the 
earthquakes  by  which  the  city  has  been  almost  destroyed 
several  times  in  the  past.  Indeed  all  the  Central  Ameri- 
can capitals  are  much  the  same.  They  are  Spanish  towns 
like  those  we  saw  during  our  stay  in  Mexico. 

The  trip  from  Salvador  to  Panama  by  steamer  requires 
several  days.  We  move  slowly  south  along  the  dry,  thirsty 
coast  of  the  Pacific,  comparing  it  with  the  wet  tropical 
lowlands  and  dense  vegetation  along  the  Caribbean  Sea. 
Now  and  then  we  pass  a  steamer  from  the  Panama  Canal 
going  northward  to  San  Francisco  or  Seattle,  and  finally 
we  enter  the  great  Gulf  of  Panama  and  come  to  anchor 
in  the  port  of  Balboa,  at  the  Pacific  end  of  the  canal. 

We  are  now  again  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States. 
Old  Glory  floats  above  the  public  buildings  and  ware- 
houses, and  we  can  see  it  flying  also  over  the  great  hospital 
and  hotels  on  Ancon  Hill.  A  little  farther  to  the  east  is 
the  city  of  Panama,  the  capital  of  the  Panama  republic, 
and  right  in  front  is  the  entrance  to  the  Panama  Canal, 
through  which  our  steamer  is  to  climb  over  one  of  the  low 
passes  of  the  highland  to  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

We  spend  one  day  in  visiting  the  capital  of  Panama. 
It  is  a  beautifully  situated  city  looking  out  on  the  gulf, 
with  some  of  the  old  walls  which  were  built  to  keep  off  the 
buccaneers  and  pirates  still  standing.  The  city  has  a  large 
cathedral,  a  university,  and  some  fine  public  buildings. 
The  streets  are  well  paved.  It  has  street  cars  and  electric 
lights  and  all  modern  improvements.  The  president 
of  the  republic  tells  us  that  his  country  has  benefited 
greatly  by  the  building  of  the  canal,  and  that  he  hopes 
that  our  two  peoples  will  always  be  friends. 

CABP.    N.    AMER. — 29 


480 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  481 


LXXIV.  THE  PANAMA  CANAL  — HOME  TO  NEW 

YORK 

WE  begin  this  morning  our  last  journey  in  Central 
America.  We  shall  cross  the  North  Americar. 
continent  where  it  is  narrowest,  by  the  Panama  Canal, 
and  then  steam  on  to  New  York.  We  have  now  traveled 
through  all  the  countries  of  the  North  American  continent 
from  Alaska  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  We  have  gone 
from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  Pacific  in  Canada,  in  the 
United  States,  in  Mexico,  and  in  the  northern  part  of 
Central  America.  In  some  of  these  journeys  the  distance 
has  been  more  than  three  thousand  miles.  The  trip  upon 
which  we  are  starting  to-day  will  be  only  about  fifty 
miles — so  short  that  an  airplane  could  make  it  in  a  half 
hour  or  less.  The  time  will  be  less  than  a  day,  but  if  it 
were  not  for  the  canal,  and  if  we  still  wished  to  go  all  of 
the  way  by  sea,  it  would  take  us  more  than  a  month  to 
reach  the  other  side  of  the  continent.  We  should  have  to 
travel  thousands  of  miles  southward  along  western  South 
America  to  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  steam  through  that 
strait  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  and  going  northward  should  still  have  six  or  seven 
thousand  miles  more  to  travel  before  we  could  reach  the 
port  on  the  other  side  of  the  Isthmus.  The  difference  in 
time  would  be  more  than  one  month,  and  the  expense, 
notwithstanding  heavy  tolls  charged  by  the  canal,  would 
be  very  much  greater. 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama  is  the  narrow  neck  of  land 
connecting  North  America  and  South  America.  It  con- 
sists of  a  range  of  low  mountains,  the  highest  of  which 
at  this  point  are  not  so  high  as  the  tallest  office  buildings 


482  NORTH  AMERICA 

of  our  larger  cities.  The  Isthmus  is  so  narrow  that  we 
could  cross  it  by  automobile  in  two  or  three  hours,  or  upon 
foot  in  two  days.  Nevertheless,  until  August,  1914, 
this  little  strip  of  land  acted  as  a  mighty  wall  between  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  blocking  the  commerce  of 
the  world.  Ships  could  come  from  either  of  the  two  oceans 
to  the  wall,  but  they  had  to  travel  thousands  of  miles  out 
of  their  course  to  go  from  one  side  to  the  other.  It  took' 
them  many  weeks  to  go  by  way  of  the  Strait  of  Magel- 
lan or  Cape  Horn;  and  parts  of  Asia,  Australia,  South 
America,  and  Europe,  so  far  as  the  sea  routes  between 
them  were  concerned,  were  thousands  of  miles  farther 
apart  than  they  are  now. 

From  time  to  time  men  planned  to  dig  a  waterway 
through  the  Isthmus,  to  make  a  short  cut  from  ocean  to 
ocean.  The  work  was  so  great,  however,  that  it  was  not 
until  1879  that  any  one  dared  to  attempt  it.  At  that  time 
a  French  company,  with  plans  made  by  Ferdinand  de 
Lesseps',  began  the  work.  De  Lesseps  had  already  dug 
the  canal  through  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  which  joined 
Africa  and  Asia,  and  he  was  thought  to  be  just  the  man  to 
cut  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 

But  the  French  found  that  digging  a  ditch  through  a 
level  desert  of  sand  like  that  of  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  was 
far  different  from  cutting  a  canal  through  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama.  In  Panama  a  mountain  had  to  be  blasted  down, 
vast  amounts  of  earth  and  rock  had  to  be  moved  out  of 
the  way,  and  mighty  dams  had  to  be  built  to  control  the 
floods.  The  French  company  began  the  work  extrava- 
gantly, and  had  spent  several  hundred  million  dollars  be- 
fore the  French  people  became  dissatisfied  and  would 
give  no  more  money.  After  it  failed,  a  new  French  com- 
pany sold  its  right  to  build  the  canal,  including  all  the 


THE   PANAMA  CANAL 


483 


work  that  had  been  done,  to  our  government  for  the  sum 
of  forty  million  dollars. 

When  Colombia  declined  to  make  a  treaty  confirming 
our  right  to  build  the  canal,  the  province  of  Panama  de- 
clared its  independence.  Then  by  treaty  with  Panama 
we  acquired  a  strip  of  territory  ten  miles  wide  running 
from  one  side  of  the  Isthmus  to  the  other.  This  is  called 
the  Canal  Zone,  and 
through  the  middle 
of  it  we  dug  our 
great  waterway.  We 
used  a  little  of  the 
work  done  by  the 
French,  but  had  to 
do  many  times  as 
much  more  and  so 
changed  the  char- 
acter of  the  canal 
that  it  is  an  Ameri- 
can work  through- 
out. 

The  plans  of 
Ferdinand  de  Les- 
seps  proposed  a  sea- 
level  canal,  like  that  at  Suez.  He  tried  to  cut  down  the 
pass  through  the  mountains  to  the  level  of  the  sea  so  that 
the  two  oceans  could  run  together  and  vessels  could  steam 
right  through  from  one  to  the  other.  These  plans  were 
found  impossible  by  our  engineers,  and  our  canal  is  a  lock 
canal,  only  about  one  third  of  it  being  on  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  about  two  thirds,  or  over  thirty  miles,  on  a  plane 
which  is  eighty-five  feet  above  that  level.  At  either  end 
of  the  elevated  portion  are  great  locks  by  means  of  which 


484  NORTH  AMERICA 

the  ships  are  raised  or  lowered  from  one  part  of  the  canal 
to  the  other.  Thus  they  sail  as  over  a  great  water  bridge 
from  ocean  to  ocean.  The  locks  are  somewhat  like  those 
we  saw  in  the  Great  Lakes.  They  might  be  called  the 
steps  on  each  side  of  the  bridge. 

The  elevated  part  of  the  canal  has  been  made  by  cutting 
down  and  blasting  out  the  earth  and  rock  of  the  Gaillard 
Cut  through  the  mountains,  and  also  by  damming  the 
Chagres  (cha'gres)  River  so  that  a  lake  has  been  formed 
at  the  level  of  85  feet  above  the  sea.  The  dam  is  known 
as  the  Gatun  (ga-toon')  Dam  and  the  lake  is  Lake  Gatun. 
It  is  the  waters  of  Lake  Gatun  that  flow  through  the  pass, 
and  fill  the  locks  that  raise  and  lower  the  ships. 

The  locks  are  much  more  wonderful  than  those  of  the 
Great  Lakes.  Each  lock  is  one  thousand  feet  long  and 
big  enough  to  hold  the  largest  ship  afloat.  The  gates  to 
the  locks  are  of  steel,  and  they  comprise  millions  of  pieces 
so  closely  fitted  together  that  they  keep  out  the  water. 
They  are  moved  by  machinery,  whose  motive  power  is 
electricity  generated  by  the  fall  of  the  surplus  waters  of 
Gatun  Lake  at  the  dam. 

The  story  of  building  the  canal  is  so  wonderful  that  it 
would  take  a  large  book  to  describe  it.  Its  cost  all  together 
was  about  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions  of 
dollars,  and  millions  more  were  spent  by  the  United  States 
in  building  fortifications  and  in  the  purchase  of  rights,  so 
that  the  sums  appropriated  for  the  canal  by  Congress  have 
been  almost  a  half  billion  dollars.  In  this  is  included 
twenty-five  million  dollars  given  to  Colombia  in  1921  to 
settle  the  claim  of  that  country  as  former  owner  of  the 
Isthmus. 

To-day  the  canal  is  well  fortified  along  the  line  of  the 
route,  and  also  by  the  great  military  works  on  the  islands 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  485 

near  the  entrances  from  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  Our 
government  has  a  railroad  running  through  the  Canal 
Zone  from  one  side  of  the  Isthmus  to  the  other,  and  we 
keep  a  large  force  of  Americans  in  the  Canal  Zone  to  run 
this  road,  to  operate  the  machinery  of  the  canal,  and  to 
manage  the  docks,  warehouses,  coaling  stations,  and  other 
establishments  at  each  end.  We  have  great  warehouses, 
ice  plants,  cold  storage  plants,  hospitals,  and  hotels  in  the 
Canal  Zone.  We  have  water  works  and  fuel  oil  tanks,  and 
stores  which  contain  everything  needed  by  the  ships  that 
pass  through.  The  people  of  the  Canal  Zone  are  under 
the  rule  of  a  governor  appointed  by  the  President.  The 
civil  population  is  not  large,  and  the  zone  is  kept  as  a 
military  reservation  upon  which  no  private  individuals 
or  traders  are  permitted  to  settle  or  acquire  land. 

The  first  great  steamer  to  go  through  the  canal  was  the 
Ancon,  belonging  to  the  United  States  government.  It 
passed  from  one  ocean  to  the  other  on  August  15,  1914, 
carrying  the  Secretary  of  War  and  two  hundred  other 
passengers.  The  time  taken  was  nine  hours.  Now  the 
average  time  of  passage  is  seven  or  eight  hours,  and  the 
shortest  passage  has  been  four  hours  and  ten  minutes. 
It  is  estimated  that  thirty-six  ships  can  pass  through  in 
one  day,  and  within  five  years  after  the  canal  was  opened 
over  ten  thousand  vessels  had  passed  through. 

Among  the  great  difficulties  in  the  construction  of  the 
canal  were  the  fevers  and  other  tropical  diseases,  which 
were  so  common  when  the  Panama  railroad  was  first  built 
that  it  was  said  a  man  died  for  every  tie  laid  in  the  track. 
Many  thousands  died  while  the  French  were  at  work, 
but  during  our  building  of  the  canal  the  death  rate  became 
lower  than  that  of  many  large  cities.  This  was  due  largely 
to  Surgeon- General  W.  C.  Gorgas,  whose  sanitation  methods 


486 


NORTH  AMERICA 


made  the  Canal  Zone  one  of  the  most  healthful  parts  of  the 
world.  The  building  of  the  canal  during  the  greater  part 
of  its  construction  was  under  General  George  W.  Goethals 
(go'thalz),  a  famous  engineer  of  the  United  States  Army. 
In  our  trip  through  the  canal  we  leave  Balboa  in  the 
morning  and  steam  slowly  up  the  wide  channel  which 
leads  from  the  Pacific  to  the  locks  of  Miraflores  (me-ra- 
flo'ras).  Now  we  are  inside  the  locks.  The  gates  behind 
us  have  closed,  and  we  can  feel  ourselves  rising.  The  great 


Steamer  in  one  of  the  locks  in  the  Panama  Canal. 


steamer  is  soon  floating  on  the  level  of  a  second  lock,  in 
which  we  are  lifted  to  Lake  Miraflores.  Our  ship  is  towed 
through  the  locks  by  electric  locomotives  which  run  along 
the  walls  on  each  side.  We  put  on  steam  as  we  pass  through 


THE  PANAMA   CANAL  487 

the  lake,  and  then  enter  the  lock  of  Pedro  Miguel  (pa'dro 
me-gel'),  where  the  locomotives  move  us  on  to  the  Gaillard 
Cut. 

In  the  first  two  locks  we  have  risen  55  feet,  and  in  the 
third,  30  feet.  In  all  we  have  been  lifted  85  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  two  oceans,  and  we  are  now  at  just  about 
the  same  height  above  that  level  as  a  roof  of  an  eight- 
story  building  is  above  the  ground.  It  is  on  this  level 
that  we  steam  on  through  the  Gaillard  Cut  and  enter  Lake 
Gatun.  The  cut  is  nine  miles  in  length,  and  the  lake  is 
twenty-four  miles  long.  Winding  our  way  across  it,  we 
come  to  the  Gatun  Dam,  an  immense  structure  which  was 
erected  between  two  mountains  to  hold  back  the  waters 
of  the  Chagres  River,  which  form  the  lake.  We  pass 
through  the  dam  by  a  series  of  these  locks,  dropping  from 
one  to  another  as  the  waters  are  let  out,  and  finally  steam- 
ing out  into  a  channel  which  leads  to  Limon  Bay  and  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  In  our  ride  through  the  Canal  we  have 
gone  all  together  a  little  more  than  forty  miles,  the  distance 
from  deep  water  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  to  deep  water  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  being  just  about  fifty  miles. 

As  we  look  back  over  our  trip  we  can  easily  understand 
what  is  meant  by  the  saying  that  the  Panama  Canal  is  a 
fresh-water  bridge  connecting  the  salt  waters  of  the  Pacific 
and  of  the  Atlantic.  We  tasted  the  water  when  we  started 
;  from  Balboa.  It  was  salt  and  bitter.  We  drew  up  a  bucket 
over  the  side  of  the  steamer  while  we  were  in  the  locks  of 
Miraflores.  The  water  there  was  as  fresh  as  our  drinking 
water  at  home.  It  came  from  the  mountains,  and  the  same 
kind  of  water  filled  all  the  locks  and  Lake  Gatun.  It  was 
this  fresh  water  that  raised  us  to  the  level  of  Gaillard  Cut 
and  kept  the  steamer  afloat  until  we  dropped  down  through 
the  Gatun  locks  into  the  salt  waters  of  the  Atlantic. 


488  NORTH  AMERICA 

The  channel  from  Gatun  locks  to  the  Atlantic  is  only 
seven  miles  long.  It  takes  us  but  a  short  time  to  steam 
through  it  to  Cristobal  (kris-to-bal') ,  which  is  our  port  at 
the  Atlantic  end  of  the  Canal.  We  wait  there  but  a  few 
hours,  and  then  the  steamer  starts  out  for  New  York.  We 
cross  Limon  Bay  and  are  soon  in  the  wide  Caribbean  Sea. 
The  weather  now  is  delightful.  The  sun  shines,  and  we 
get  splendid  snapshots  of  flying  fish  as  they  dart  from 
wave  to  wave  in  front  of  our  steamer.  A  day  after  leaving 
the  canal  we  see  the  blue  mountains  of  Jamaica  on  our 
right,  and  a  little  later  we  are  steaming  between  Haiti  and 
Cuba,  going  very  close  to  Santiago,  where  our  naval  battle 
with  the  Spaniards  was  fought. 

The  next  islands  we  see  are  the  Bahamas,  on  one  of  which 
Columbus  first  landed  when  he  found  the  New  World. 
After  that  we  have  only  the  ocean  in  view  until  we  near 
the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States  at  Sandy  Hook. 
It  is  there  that  we  stop  for  our  pilot,  who  conducts  the 
steamer  through  the  channel  in  the  entrance  to  New  York 
harbor,  taking  us  by  Staten  Island  and  the  great  Statue  of 
Liberty  to  the  wharves  of  New  York. 

1.  Where  is  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec?    Compare  its  width 
with  that  of  Panama  along  the  line  of  the  canal. 

2.  What  is  the  Intercontinental  Railway? 

3.  Where  is  Central  America?    What  body  of  water  lies  on  the 
east?    On  the  west?    What  country  on  the  north?    On  the  south? 

4.  Compare  Central  America  in  size  with  four  states  of  the  United 
States.     In  surface  with  Mexico.     Of  how  many  countries  does  it 
consist?    Compare  each  in  size  with  one  of  our  states. 

5.  What  are  the  chief  products  of  Central  America?    Mineral? 
Agricultural? 

6.  What  Central  American  fruit  product  is  most  important  to  us? 
Where  does  it  grow?    Describe  a  visit  to  one  of  the  plantations  and 
tell  how  the  fruit  is  grown  and  shipped  to  the  United  States. 

7.  Visit  a  mahogany  forest  and  compare  the  lumbering  there  with 


THE  PANAMA  CANAL  489 

that  about  Lake  Superior.  How  is  rubber  obtained  in  Central 
America?  In  Brazil?  (See  Carpenter's  "South  America,"  pages  344- 
351,  also  Carpenter's  "How  the  World  is  Clothed,  pages  240- 
261). 

8.  What  are  the  capitals  of  Central  America?    Where  is  each  lo- 
cated?   Describe  the  buildings  and  tell  why  they  are  of  only  one  or 
two  stories. 

9.  Through  what  Central  American  country  other  than  Panama 
was  it  planned  to  build  a  canal?    What  was  the  length  of  the  pro- 
posed canal?   Where  was  it  planned  to  build  a  ship  railway? 

10.  At  what  port  of  the  Pacific  do  we  arrive  in  coming  to  Panama? 
After  whom  was  it  named?   Tell  all  you  can  about  him.    (See  Car- 
penter's "South  America,"  page  27.)     What  great  discovery  did 
he  make? 

n.  How  long  is  the  Panama  Canal?  Why  is  it  called  a  water 
bridge?  What  did  it  cost?  Compare  the  Panama  Canal  with  the 
Sault  Ste.  Mary's  Canal.  With  the  Suez  Canal.  (See  Carpenter's 
"Africa.") 

12.  Take  five  trips  from  New  York  through  the  canal  to  an  im- 
portant port  of  another  continent,  and  show  the  saving  by  way  of 
the  canal.     Describe  your  trip  in  each  case. 

13.  Describe  your  journey  through  the  canal.    What  important 
cities  are  at  each  end  of  it? 


TABLES 


TABLE  I.  AREA  OF  CONTINENTS  AND  OCEANS 


'    ( 

)           10          2 

MILL) 

0          3 

ONS  OF 

0          4 

SQUARE 
0             5 

MICE8 

0          6 

0          7 

0          8 

0 
17,043,000 

11,517,000 

North  America.. 
South  America.. 
Antarctica 
Europe 

^^^_! 

9,392,000 

^^ 

6,858,000 

J 

5,000,000 

^^                | 

3',854,000 

3,457,000 

Patifie  Ocean  

._     .71,000,000 

Atlantic  Ocean.  _ 
Indian  Ocean  
Arctic  Ocean  
Antarctic  Ocean. 

_!      1     4 

34,000,000 
28,000,000 

_   4,000,000 

P::::::r~y;:::::. 

.  .  2,700,000 

TABLE  II.  AREA  OF  NORTH  AMERICAN  COUNTRIES 


THOUSANDS  OF  SOIWRE  HUE'S 


€ 
Canada. 

II 

)0        2( 

,0        3C 

0        4( 

)0        5( 

)0        6 

DO        7C 

10        8C 

0 

^3,759,366 

and  Alaska 

Mexico.  __    _      . 
Newfoundland 
and  Labrador. 

•R 

B 

.   ^,679,403 
767,198 

.49,680 

Nicaragua.    

•n 

49550 

Guatemala  

•EI 

_       _A8,290 

Honduras  ._ 

^ 

-44,275 

Panama 

•. 

22,380 

Costa  Rica 

• 

23000 

Salvador  

|  

|_ 

_13,li"6 

r       l 

491 


4Q2 


NORTH  AMERICA 


TABLE  III.  POPULATION  OF  NORTH  AMERICAN  COUNTRIES 


20 
I 


30      40 


MILLIONS 
50         60 


70       80 


United  States 

and  Alaska 

Mexico . 

Canada 

Guatemala 

Salvador. 

Honduras 

Nicaragua 

Costa  Rica 

Panama 

Newfoundland- 
and  Labrador 

TABLE  IV.  AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  STATES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


9.0     100     110 

—105.765,000 
—15,503,000 

8,788,000 

2,006,000 

1,526,000 

673,000 

638,000 

485,000 

443,000 

263,000 


AREA  (Sq.  Mi.) 


POPULATION  (1920) 


Northeastern  States 

Maine 

Vermont 

New  Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

Connecticut 

Rhode  Island 

Middle  Atlantic  Slates 

New  York 

Pennsylvania 

New  Jersey 

South  Atlantic  States 

Georgia 

Florida 

North  Carolina 

Virginia 

South  Carolina 

West  Virginia 

Maryland 

Delaware 

District  of  Columbia. . 
South  Central  States 

Texas 

Oklahoma, 

Arkansas.  .  .    

Alabama 

Louisiana 

Mississippi 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 


33,040 
9,564 
9,341 
8,266 

4,965 
1,248 

49,204 

45,126 

8,224 

59,265 

58,666 

52,426 

42,627 

30,989 

24,170 

12,327 

2,370 

70 

265,896 
70,057 
53,335 
5i,998 
48,506 
46,865 
42,022 
40,598 


768/314 

352,428 

443,083 

3,852,356 

1,380,631 

604,397 

10,385,227 
8,720,017 
3,155,900 

2,895,832 

968,470 

2,559,123 

2,309,187 

1,683,724 

1,463,701 

1,449,661 

223,003 

437,5/i 

4,663,228 
2,028,283 
1,752,204 
2,348,174 
1,798,509 
1,790,618 
2,337,885 
2,416,630 


TABLES 

TABLE  IV  (Continued) 


493 


AREA  (So..  Mi.) 

POPULATION  (1920) 

North  Central  States 
Minnesota.  .  .              

84,682 

2,387,125 

Kansas  

82,158 

1,769,257 

South  Dakota  

77,615 

636,547 

Nebraska  

77,520 

1,296,372 

North  Dakota  

70,837 

646,872 

Missouri  

60,420 

3,404,055 

Michigan  

57,080 

3,668,412 

Illinois  

56,66s 

6,485,280 

Iowa  

c6,!47 

2,404,021 

Wisconsin  

^6,066 

2,632,067 

Ohio  

41,040 

5,759,394 

Indiana  

36,3^4 

2,030,390 

Plateau  Stales 
Montana  

146,007 

1548,880 

New  Mexico.    .    . 

122,634 

36O,3^O 

Arizona  

H3,Q^6 

334,162 

Nevada  

110,690 

77,4O7 

Colorado.  ...            ... 

10^,048 

030.620 

Wyoming.  ... 

07,014 

IQ4,4O2 

Utah  

84,000 

440,306 

Idaho  

83,888 

431,866 

Pacific  States 
California..  .  . 

158,207 

3,426,86l 

Oregon.  .  .  . 

06,600 

783,380 

Washington. 

60,127 

1.336.621 

Alaska  

500,884 

^4,8oQ 

TABLE  V.  AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  PROVINCES  OF  CANADA 


PROVINCE 

AREA  (So,.  Mi.) 

POP.  (1920) 

Northwest  Territories  

1,272,000 

7,088 

Quebec  

706,834 

2,361,100 

Ontario.  .  . 

AO7  262 

2  O33  662 

British  Columbia  

3S<;,855 

^24,^82 

Alberta  

2?5,285 

588,454 

Manitoba  

2^1,832 

610,118 

Saskatchewan  

25I,7OO 

7C7.5IO 

Yukon  Territory  

207,000 

4.,  157 

New  Brunswick  

27,085 

387,876 

Nova  Scotia  

21,428 

C23.837 

Prince  Edward  Island  

2,184 

88,615 

494 


NORTH  AMERICA 


TABLE  VI.  POPULATION  OF  LARGE  CITIES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


THE  UNITED  STATES 

Akron,  Ohio 208,435 

Albany,  N.  Y "3,344 

Atlanta,  Ga 200,616 

Baltimore,  Md 733,826 

Birmingham,  Ala 178,806 

Boston,  Mass 748,060 

Bridgeport,  Conn 143,555 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 506,775 

Cambridge,  Mass 109,694 

Camden,  N.  J 116,309 

Chicago,  111 2,701,705 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 401,247 

Cleveland,  Ohio 796,841 

Columbus,  Ohio 237,031 

Dallas,  Texas 158,976 

Dayton,  Ohio 152,559 

Denver,  Colo 256,491 

Des  Moines,  Iowa 1 26,468 

Detroit,  Mich 993,678 

Duluth,  Minn 98,917 

Elizabeth,  N.  J 95,783 

Erie,  Pa 93,372 

Fall  River,  Mass 120,485 

Flint,  Mich 91, 599 

Fort  Worth,  Tex 106,482 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich 137,634 

Hartford,  Conn 138,036 

Houston,  Tex 138,276 

Indianapolis,  Ind 314,194 

Jacksonville,  Fla 91,558 

Jersey  City,  N.  J 298,103 

Kansas  City,  Kans 101,177 

Kansas  City,  Mo 324,410 

Lawrence,  Mass 94,270 

Los  Angeles,  Calif 576,673 

Louisville,  Ky 234,891 

Lowell,  Mass 112,759 

Lynn,  Mass 99,148 

Memphis,  Tenn 162,351 

Milwaukee,  Wis 457,147 

Minneapolis,  Minn 380,582 

Nashville,  Tenn 118,342 

Newark,  N.  J 414,524 

New  Bedford,  Mass 121,217 

New  Haven,  Conn 162,537 


New  Orleans,  La 387,219 

New  York,  N.  Y 5,620,048 

Norfolk,  Va "5,777 

Oakland,  Calif 216,261 

Oklahoma  City,  Okla 91,295 

Omaha,  Nebr 191,601 

Paterson,  N.  J 135,875 

Philadelphia,  Pa 1,823,775 

Pittsburgh,  Pa -588,343' 

Portland,  Oregon 258,288 

Providence,  R.  1 237,595 

Reading,  Pa 107,784 

Richmond,   Va 171,667 

Rochester,  N.  Y 295,750 

St.  Louis,  Mo 772,897 

St.  Paul,  Minn 234,698 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 118,110 

San  Antonio,  Tex 161,379 

San  Francisco,  Calif 506,676 

Scranton,  Pa 137,783 

Seattle,  Wash 315,312 

Somerville,  Mass 93,091 

Spokane,  Wash 104,437 

Springfield,  Mass 129,614 

Syracuse,  N.  Y 171,717 

Tacoma,  Wash 96,965 

Toledo,  Ohio 243,164 

Trenton,  N.  J 119,289 

Utica,  N.  Y 94,156 

Washington,  D.  C 437,57* 

Wilmington,  Del 110,168 

Worcester,  Mass 179,754 

Yonkers,  N.  Y 100,176 

Youngstown,  Ohio 132,358 

OTHER  COUNTRIES 

Montreal,  Canada 618,506 

Toronto,  Canada 521,893 

Winnipeg,  Canada 179,089 

Vancouver,  Canada..  ......  117,217 

Ottawa,  Canada 107,843 

Mexico,  Mexico 1,080,000 

Guadalajara,  Mexico.        .  119,468 

Puebla,  Mexico 96,121 

Guatemala,  Guatemala .    .  90,000 

San  Salvador,  Salvador .  80,000 

Panama,  Panama 02,000 


TABLES 


495 


TABLE  VII.  HIGH  MOUNTAINS 


Sea  Level. 


TABLE  VIII.  IMPORTANT  RIVERS 


LENGTH, 
MILES 

LENGTH, 

MILES 

NORTH  AMERICA 
Athabasca.  . 

76^ 

Yellowstone.  .  . 

I,IOO 

Colorado.    .  . 

I,4OO 

Yukon 

2,000 

Columbia 

T./lOO 

Kuskokwim  .  .  . 

7OO 

Delaware  

37°? 

Hudson  

ISO 

OTHER  CONTINENTS 

James 

J.SO 

Amazon.  .  . 

3?oo 

Mackenzie  

2,400 

Danube  

1,700 

Missouri-Mississippi 

4  200 

Ganges  

I   ?OO 

Ohio. 

o<o 

Hwang. 

2  8OO 

Platte  

1,260 

Kongo  

2,8OO 

Peace. 

I  06  <C 

Nile 

3OOO 

Potomac  

4.  so 

Orinoco  

I.SOO 

Red  

I,2OO 

Plata-Parana  

2.SOO 

Rio  Grande. 

1,  8OO 

Volga  

2,?OO 

St.  Lawrence  .  .  . 

2,  ISO 

Yangtze  .  .        .      . 

^.IOO 

Saskatchewan..  . 

I.2OC 

Zambezi.. 

2.2OO 

CARP.    N.    AMER. — 30 


496 


NORTH  AMERICA 


TABLE  IX.  WATER  POWERS  OF  THE  WORLD 


AVAILABLE 
H.  P. 

DEVELOPED 
H.  P. 

United  States     

55,000,000 

4,100,000 

Canada    .  .         

18,000,000 

1,300,000 

Norway         

7,500,000 

920,000 

Sweden..    .  .        

6,750,000 

5SO.OOO 

France                

5,857,000 

650,000 

Italy  .  .  . 

5,500,000 

565,000 

Spain  

5,000,000 

300,000 

Finland  

3,000,000 

Switzerland  

1,500,000 

380,000 

Germany  

1,425,000 

44  ?  ,OOO 

Great  Britain  

063,000 

80,000 

TABLE  X.  SAILING  DISTANCES  FROM  NEW 
FRANCISCO,  TO  PRINCIPAL  PORTS  AND 


YORK,  NEW  ORLEANS,  SAN 
CITIES  OF  THE  WORLD 


PORT 

ROUTE 

N.  Y. 

N.  ORL. 

SAN 
FRAN. 

Aden  

Suez  Canal  

6,532 

7,870 

Suez  and  Panama  

10,800 

Singapore  

i  i,  500 

Antwerp.    .  . 

(Direct)  .  . 

3,32!; 

4,853 

Panama  

8,264 

Bombay  

Suez  Canal  

8,120 

9,536 

Suez  and  Panama  

12,512 

Singapore  

9,780 

Buenos  Aires 

Singapore  and  Panama..  . 
(Direct)  

14,837 
5,868 

14,236 
6,318 

Magellan  Strait.  .    . 

7,511 

Calcutta. 

Suez  Canal.  .  . 

0,830 

11,230 

Singapore  

8,990 

Cape  Town 

Singapore  and  Panama..  . 
(Direct) 

14,230 
6,815 

13,694 

7,374 

Panama  

9,898 

Colon  (eastern  end  of 

(Direct)  .... 

i,  08  1 

1,380 

Panama  Canal). 

Canal  and  Panama  .     . 

3.324 

Copenhagen.  . 

(Direct) 

3,852 

5,44.3 

Gibraltar..  . 

(Direct) 

3,2O7 

4.576 

Panama 

7,642 

Hamburg.  .  .  . 

(Direct)  

3,652 

5,243 

New  York  

6,843 

Havre.  . 

(Direct) 

3,160 

4,76c 

New  York  . 

6,.36o 

TABLES 


497 


TABLE  X.  SAILING  DISTANCES,  ETC. — Continued 


PORT 

ROUTE 

N.  Y. 

N.  ORL 

SAN- 
FRAN. 

Hongkong  

(Direct)  

6,086 

Panama  

11.4.31 

10,830 

Suez  

11,610 

12,802 

Liverpool  . 

(Direct)  .  .      .            .... 

3,oi53 

4,CS3 

Panama.    .               .    .  .  . 

8,038 

London. 

(Direct)  ...                .... 

•2,233 

4,co7 

Panama.  .              . 

8,218 

Manila  ...               ... 

(Direct)  

6,943 

Yokohama  

6,289 

Panama  

II,  546 

10,003 

Suez  

n,?<>6 

12,046 

Marseille    

(Direct)  

3,876 

^,266 

Panama  

8,332 

Melbourne  

(Direct)  

7,040 

Panama  

IO,O28 

0,427 

Suez  Canal  

12,081 

14,303 

New  Orleans  

(Direct)  

1,738 

Panama  

4,687 

New  York.  ... 

(Direct)  

1,738 

Panama.            

^,262 

Petrograd  

(Direct)  

4,6^2 

6,223 

New  York  

7,823 

Port  Said,  Egypt  

(Direct)  

5,122 

6,500 

Panama.           

Q,562 

Rio  de  Janeiro.  . 

(Direct)  

4,778 

=5,218 

Panama  

7,678 

San  Francisco.  . 

Panama  

5,262 

4,687 

Shanghai  

(Direct)  

tr,cco 

Panama.           

IO,855 

IO,254 

Suez. 

12,^60 

12  ,7  Co 

Singapore.  ... 

(Direct) 

7,?O2 

Suez  . 

IO,I7O 

11,560 

Sitka,  Alaska.  . 

Yokohama  and  Panama. 
(Direct) 

13,104 

12,503 

1,302 

Panama 

6,607 

6,006 

Valparaiso.  . 

(Direct) 

•1,140 

Panama 

4,637 

4,03? 

Vladivostok 

(Direct) 

4,706 

Wellington,  New  Zea- 

San Francisco  &  Panama 
(Direct)  

10,001 

9,410 

5,909 

land. 

Panama 

8,5:40 

7,030 

Suez  

14,230 

15,620 

Yokohama.  .          .... 

(Direct)  

4,536 

Honolulu  and  Panama.  .  . 

10,093 

9,492 

NORTH  AMERICA 


TABLE  XI.    DISTANCES  BY  RAIL  BETWEEN  CITIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


FROM 


To:       NEW  YORK 


Atlanta,  Ga 876 

Baltimore,  Md 188 

Boston,  Mass 235 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 442 

Charleston,  S.  C 739 

Chattanooga,  Tenn 847 

Chicago,  111 912 

Cincinnati,  Ohio 757 

Cleveland,  Ohio 584 

,  Columbus,  Ohio 637 

i  Dallas,  Tex 1,769 

Denver,  Col 1,930 

Des  Moines,  Iowa 1,270 

Detroit,  Mich 693 

Duluth,  Minn 1,391 

El  Paso,  Tex ,. .  2,310 

Galveston,  Tex 1,782 

Helena,  Mont 2,452 

Indianapolis,  Ind 825 

Jacksonville,  Fla 983 

Kansas  City,  Mo 1,342 

Key  West,  Fla i,4S4 

Little  Rock,  Ark 1,290 

Los  Angeles,  Calif 3,149 

Louisville,  Ky 871 

Memphis,  Tenn 1,157 

Milwaukee,  Wis 997 

Minneapolis,  Minn 1,332 

Mobile,  Ala 1,231 

New  Orleans,  La 1,372 

New  York,  N.  Y 

Norfolk,  Va 347 

Oklahoma,  Okla 1,608 

Omaha,  Nebr 1,405 

Philadelphia,  Pa 91 

Pittsburgh,  Pa 444 

Portland,  Maine.  . 350 

Portland,  Oregon 3,204 

St.  Paul,  Minn 1,322 

St.  Louis,  Mo 1,065 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 2,442 

San  Antonio,  Tex i,943 

San  Diego,  Calif 3,231 

San  Francisco,  Calif 3,191 

Sante  Fe,  N.  Mex 2,211 

Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Mich 1,036 

Savannah,  Ga 845 

Seattle,  Wash 3,151 

Sioux  City,  Iowa 1,422 

Tacoma,  Wash 3,199 

Toledo,  Ohio 705 

Washington,  D.  C 228 


NEW  ORLEANS 


496 
1,184 
1,607 

1,275 

776 

491 

912 

829 

1,092 

945 

515 

i,357 

1,044 

1,100 

i,39i 

i,i95 
410 

2,152 
888 
616 
880 

1,087 
487 

2,007 
778 
396 
997 

1,285 
141 


i,093 

752 
i,  080 
1,281 
1,142 
1,722 
2,746 
i,275 

699 
1,928 

571 
2,088 
2,482 
i,35i 
1,399 

66  1 
2,931 
1,173 
2,890 
1,040 
1,144 


SAN  FRANCISCO 


2,810 
3,081 
3,3i3 
2,804 

3,"9 
2,672 

2,279 
2,377 
2,636 
2,593 
1,932 
1,376 
i,93l 
2,551 
2,243 
1,287 
2,157 
1,255 
2,462 
3,098 
1,986 
3,569 
2,291 

475 
2,473 
2,439 
2,364 
2,101 
2,623 
2,482 
3,191 
3,247 
i,994 
1,786 
3,100 
2,747 
3,428 

722 
2,091 
2,199 

823 
1,911 

602 

i',286 
2,581 
3,104 

957 

1,821 

916 

2,523 
3,069 


TABLES 


499 


TABLE  XII.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  GOLD 


MILLIONS  OF  DOLLARS 

0  10  2.0  3,0  40  50  6.0  70  80  90100     120      140 


Africa 

United  States-  _ 

Australasia 

Mexico 

Canada. _ 


160      180 


2QO 

-.$197,000,000 
__  -69,000,000 

29,000,000 

17,000,000 

-—15,000,000 


TABLE  XIII.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  SILVER 


1     ' 

0            2 

MILLIONS 
0                3 

OF  OIWC 

0            4 

ES,  TROV 

0            5 

0            € 

0           7 

0 
.-6^200,000 

Mexico 
Canada 

mmmm 
•HMM 

OHM 

L 

62,400,000 
.21,600,000 

Peru                        J 

JO  800  000 

Australasia.          H 

9,600000 

Japan.                   J 

__6,600.000 
4,320000 

Bolivia  &  Chile  
Spain  &  Portugal.. 

mm        i 

•L    . 

—  3.120.000 

TABLE  XIV.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  IRON 


MILLIONS  OF  METRIC  TONS 


c 

1 

0                     2 

0                     3 

0                    4 

3 

mmmmmmmM 

mmmmmmm 

^™ 

• 

11,758,000 

United  Kingdom  -- 
Russia  (1916) 

9,184,000 

.3,738,000 

•           

..    1,297,000 

•. 

1,083,000 

Czechoslovakia  
Sweden  — 

| 

979,346 

•.... 

__.749,000 

TABLE  XV.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  COAL 


MILLIONS 

0          100         200        3( 

OF  SHO 
)0            4( 

?T  TONS 

)0        5C 

0        6C 

0         7( 

)0 
678,000,000 
274  000000 

=== 

••••••Mi 
MB     1 

•• 

United  Kingdom  .  . 
Poland 

L  255  000000 

63,000,000 

Czechoslovakia  — 

33  000  000 

m 

31  000  000 

Ja 

• 

30  000  000 

•           J 

20  000  000 

Belgium 

1 

15.000.000 

500 


NORTH   AMERICA 


TABLE  XVI.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  COPPER 


D        11 

)0      2 

)0      3 

TH< 
30     4 

XJSAND 

)0     5 

S  OF  T 

30     6 

DNS 

)0      7 

30     8 

30     9 

30    10 

30 

Chile 

•0 
••H 

mm.. 

• 

128  000 

Japan 

96  000 

Mexico 

77  000 

Canada 

mm 

59  000 

Spain            _ 

mm 

50  000 

Peru 

mm 

49  000 

Germany 

•    . 

44,000 

Australasia  .    .. 

• 

44  000 

Belgian  Congo- 

• 

22000 

Russia 

i 

—.19.000 

TABLE  XVII.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  PETROLEUM 


MILLIONS  OF  BARRELS 


1 

3  5 

3          100         I 

JO         2 

30         250         3( 

)0         3! 

0 

mmmmm 

mmmm.. 
m 

• 

63  828.000 

40  456  000 

Dutch  East  Indies. 
Rumania  .  ._ 

13,285.000 

• 

.-  .8.730.000 

TABLE  XVIII.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  RAISING  SHEEP 


Australia 

United  States 

Argentina 

Asiatic  Russia 

European  Russia  - 
United  Kingdom  - 

New  Zealand 

India 


100 


TABLE  XIX.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  RAISING  CATTLE 


India  (including 
domestic  buffaloes') 
United  States  J--- 

Russia 

Argentina 

Germany 

Asiatic  Russia 

France 

United  Kingdom-  - 


150 

128.310,000 

67,866,000 
42,704,000 
25,867,000 
20,317,000 
18,404,000 
.-12,443,000 
_  12,311,000 


TABLES 


TABLE  XX.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  WHEAT 


United  States 

Russia 

India 

Prance ..... 

Canada 

Italy 

Argentina 

Hungary 

Germany 

Spain 

United  Kingdom. . 


100 


MILLIONS  OF  BUSHELS 

200  300  400 


500 


600 

587,000.000 

.-523,000,000 
-  351,000,000 
-.317,000,000 
._  198,000,000 
-.183,000,000 
.-157,000,000 
...156,000,000 
...152,000,000 
.  —  130,000,000 
.--61,000.000 


TABLE  XXI.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  CORN 


MILLIONS  OF  BUSHELS 


( 

)              5C 

0           10 

00         15QO         20 

30         25 

00         30 

00 

Argentina 

m 

i70,000.000 
168.000,000* 
100,000,000* 
93,000,000 
79,000,000 

Hungary 

m 

Rumania  

•  .   — 

India  i 

•  

Italy  , 

• 

• 

78,000,000 

Egypt       ...  ,., 

•  

««,000,000 

Russia 

•  .. 

..    56.000,000 

*  Production  before  the  World  War 


TABLE  XXII.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  RICE 


0                10              2 

BILLIONS  < 
)               3 

>F  POUNDS 
0               4 

3                5 

0              6 

) 

.55,361,000,000 
_17,184,000,000 
7,500  000,000 

Japan  
China  

^= 

•BHBH     , 

Java_     _ 

..7,349,000,000 
.6,611,000,000 
..3,936,000,000 
-.2,209,000,000 
.1,460,000,000 
1  405  000  000 

Siam_ 

•" 

•_    

Formosa 

•_ 

I 
. 

Madagascar  
United  States.. 

•_ 

1.    . 

:  i  

..1.223.000.000 

502 


NORTH  AMERICA 


TABLE  XXIII.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  BEET  SUGAR 


250 


THOUSANDS  OF  TONS 

500  750  1000 


1250 


1500 


Germany mmmm  :  •• '- -- '>  •    '  :-'±*mmmtmmL. —  1,318,000 

Russia mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmL 1,134,000 

United  states mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. L. 751.000 

Holland •^•-j. L L     182,000 

Denmark .^•••--j. ,.\. ) 1 156,000 

TABLE  XXIV.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  PRODUCING  CANE  SUGAR 

MILLIONS  OF  TONS 

0  234!' 

Cuba mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  mmm 4,445,000 

India mmmmmm^mmmmmmmmmm 2,616,000 

Java mmmmmmmmmmmm i.geo.ooo 

Hawaii ••• 1 577,000 

Africa mmm 458,000 

Porto  Rico •• 363,000 

Brazil •• 303,000 

Formosa mjm . : 288,000 

Peru •• 277,000 

United  States  _-Bi 246,000 

TABLE  XXV.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES   PRODUCING   COTTON 

MILLIONS  OF  BALES 

0      1       2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9     10     11     12    13    14    15 

United  states  _. •••HMHHi  mm  mm  mmmmmmmm  mmmm  mm .14,000,000 

India mmmm  mmmm 4,000,000 

Russia mm 1,000,000 

Brazil • J , 500,000 

Persia L j J 300,000 

•  Pern 1 ]- j-~- 1 200,000 

TABLE  XXVI.  PRINCIPAL  COUNTRIES  MANUFACTURING  COTTON- 
MILLIONS  OF  SPINDLES 
0  10  20  30  40  y  60 

Great  Britain .mmmmimmmmimmmmmmmmmmmmmmL 55.576,000 

E,uiope(contmenta\)mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 43,400,000 

United  states mmmmmmmmmmmmm _- 30,500,000 

India mmm. 1 6,400,000 


INDEX 


MARKINGS  :  a  in  late,  a  in  senate,  a  in  fat.  a  in  care,  a  in  far,  a  in  last;  e  in 
me,  e  in  return,  e  in  met,  e  in  term;  I  in  fine,  I  in  tin;  N  =  ng  in  its  effect  (nasal) 
on  the  preceding  vowel,  but  is  not  itself  sounded;  6  in  note,  6  in  obey,  6  in  nflt.  6 
in  for,  60  in  school,  6~6  in  wd&l;  tb  in  tfeine;  u  in  tune,  u  in  nut,  u  in  burn. 


Adams,  John,  22,  29 

Adams,  Mt.,  in,  386 

Adirondack  (ad-I-r6n'dak)  Mts.,  438 

Agassiz  (ag'a-se),  Lake,  233 

Airplanes,  13,  273,  306 

Akron  (ak'run),  303-305 

Alaska,  403-418  —  animals,  405;  climate, 
405 ;  coastline,  403 ;  experiment  farms, 
417;  fishing,  408;  furs,  408;  Indians, 
411-412;  Kenai  (k6-ni')  Peninsula, 
409;  midnight  sun,  407;  minerals, 
408;  Norton  Sound.  416;  petroleum, 
204;  purchase,  408;  railways,  405, 
408, 409, 416;  reindeer,  51,  414;  rivers, 
403-405;  size,  403 

Alber'ta,  425 

Aleutian  (a-lu'shan)  Is.,  403,  405,  410 

Alligators,  164,  168 

Almonds,  370 

Aluminum,  manufacture  of,  281,  301 

Amatitlan  (a-ma-te-tlan'),  Lake,  472 

Amecameca  (a-ma-ka-ma'ka),  462 

American  Red  Cross,  39 

Ammunition  factories,  108 

Appalachian  (ap-a-lach'I-an)  Mts.,  16, 
18,  55,  63,  75,  97,  109,  126,  154 

Apples  —  in  California,  369;  in  Canada, 
432;  in  New  York  state,  273;  in 
Pacific  Northwest,  386,  396 

Arctic  (ark'tik)  Ocean,  411,  426,  427 

Arlington  Cemetery,  26 

Arro wreck  Dam,  364 

Asbestos,  154 

Asphalt,  207 

Atlantic  Intra-Coastal  Waterway,  115 

Atlantic  Ocean,  55,  65,  75,  152-154 

Automobile  industry,  267 

A'very  Island,  192 


Bahama  (ba-ha'ma)  Is.,  488 
Baker,  Mt.,  393,  431 
Balbo'a,  479 

Baltimore  (bol'tl-mor),  55-61 
Bamboo,  450 

Bananas  —  Central  America,  469, 
476-478;  imports  of,  56;  Mexico,  446, 

45i 

Baranof  (ba-ra'n5f)  Island,  408 

Bauxite,  154 

Bering  Sea,  410 

Bering  Strait,  15,  403 

Berkeley  (burkll),  Calif.,  381 

Birds,  in  U.  S.,  164;   reservations,  190 

Bir'mingham,  Ala.,  154 

Boise  (boi'za),  322,  364 

Boston,  104,  105,  115-123;  commerce, 
115,  117-118;  Commonwealth  Avenue, 
1 1 8;  industries,  117;  North  Church, 
121,  parks,  117-118;  population,  117; 
railways,  117;  statehouse,  117;  "tea 
party,"  120—121 

Brandywine,  battle  of,  61 

Brass,  103 

Bridgeport,  105,  108 

British  Columbia,  425;  minerals,  432-433 

Brockton,  102 

Buffalo,  266,  272-273 

Bunker  Hill,  120 

Burr,  Aaron,  80 

Butte  (but),  322 

Buttons,  103 

Cabot  (kab'ut),  John,  97 

Cacao  (ca-ca'6),  Central  America,  469, 

472;    Mexico,  446 
Cairo  (ka'ro),  Illinois,  214 
Cal'gary,  433 


S°3 


504 


NORTH   AMERICA 


California,  367-382;  Chinese  and 
Japanese,  381 

Cal'umet,  Michigan,  249 

Cameras,  273 

Canada,  418-443;  coastline,  423; 
government,  437;  climate,  423; 
commerce,  423;  conquest  by  British, 
440;  maritime  provinces,  425,  442; 
minerals,  423;  parliament,  436-437; 
rivers,  422;  winter  sports,  438-439 

Canning  clubs,  53,  231 

Canton,  Ohio,  305 

Cape  Charles,  127 

Cape  Cod  Canal,  115 

Carbide,  281 

Carborundum,  281 

Caribbe'an  Sea,  488 

Carpets,  62 

Cascade  Mts.,  383 

Cash  registers,  306 

Cattle,  52,  189;  clubs,  53;  Mexican, 
448.  See  also  Meat  packing 

Central  America,  467-489;  minerals,  469 

Chagres  (cha'grSs)  River,  484 

Charleston,  S.  C.,  155-156,  185 

Chemicals,  manufacture  of,  63 

Ches'apeake  Bay," 55,  58,  61,  127,  129 

Chicago  (shf-ko'go),  266,  307-318; 
history,  308;  stock  yards,  314;  streets, 
313;  trade,  308;  underground  tunnels, 
309;  water  supply  309 

Chicle  (chlk"l),  471 

Chihuahua  (che-wa'wa),  464 

Chocolate,  117;  see  Cacao 

Cincinnati  (sm-sl-nat'l),  306 

Cleveland,  266,  269 

Clocks,  103 

Coal,  18,  51,  55,  56,  65,  76,  126,  154; 
anthracite,  283,  287-289;  bituminous, 
283,  290;  Canada,  432;  discovery  of, 
in  U.  S.,  285;  exports,  129;  Penn- 
sylvania fields,  283-291;  reserves  of 
world,  286-287;  shipping  on  Missis- 
sippi River,  215;  safety  laws  for 
mining,  291 

Coconuts,  56,  168,  450,  469,  471 

Coffee,  105,  446,  451,  469,  472 

Coke,  293;  by-products,  293-294 

Colorado  (k6l-d-ra'do)  River,  328 

Columbia  River,  386-388 


Columbus,  Christopher,  97,  488 

Columbus,  Ohio,  305 

Commerce  —  Atlantic  seaports,  56,  65; 
80-95,  104-106,  115;  Canadian,  423; 
Department  of,  49-50;  Great  Lakes, 
259i  318;  New  Orleans,  173-174; 
177-179;  Pacific  seaports,  374,  378, 
386,  391-392,  430,  431;  St.  Lawrence 
River,  438 

Connecticut  River,  101 

Constitution  of  U.  S.,  65 

Continental  Congress,  65,  67 

Copper  —  Alaska,  349, 408, 409;  Canada 
423,  432;  Central  America,  469;  dis- 
covery of  Lake  Superior  deposits,  249; 
distribution  in  U.  S.,  349;  Mexico, 
448;  Michigan,  249;  Montana,  346- 
349;  uses  of^  347-349 

Cordova  (kor'do-va),  409 

Cork,  301 

Corn,  56,  126,  224-232;  corn  clubs,  53, 
230-231;  by-products,  226;  corn  belt 
323;  Mexico,  446 

Cortes  (kor'tes),  Hernando,  459 

Costa  Rica  (kos'ta  re'ka),  469,  478 

Cotton  —  California  and  Arizona,  139; 
cotton  clubs,  53;  cottonseed  oil,  146; 
exports,  86,  151,  171,  173,  178-179; 
ginning,  144-145;  manufacturing,  55, 
62,  101,  102,  146-152;  Mexican,  446; 
production  in  U.  S.,  139-146 

Crater  Lake,  328-329 

Cristobal  (kres-tfi-bal'),  488 

Cuyahoga  (kl-a-ho'ga)  River,  269 

Dalles  (dalz),  The,  388 

Dates,  360-361 

Dawson,  418,  426 

Dayton,  306 

Death  Valley,  369 

Declaration  of  Independence,  65,  77 

Delaware  Bay,  65 

Delaware  River,  62,  65,  72 

de  Lesseps  (de  le-sSps'),  Ferdinand,  482 

Denver,  65,  322,  323-324 

Detroit  (de-troit'),  265-267 

Douglas  (dug'las)  Island,  408 

Duluth  (dcJo-looth'),  242,  266 

Durango  (doo-ran'go),    464 

Dyes,  63 


INDEX 


S°5 


Eads  (edz),  Capt.  James  B.,  172 
Earthquakes  —  Central    America,    474, 

479;    San  Francisco,  379 
East  Liverpool,  Ohio,  302 
Ed'monton,  430 
Elephant  Butte  Dam,  364 
Ellis  Island,  87-89 
Erie  (e'ri),  67,  76 
Es'kimos,  15,  412-416,  427 
Esperanza  (fis-pa-ran'sa),  450 
Ev'erglades,  161,  168 

Fairbanks,  405,  416 

Fall  River,  101 

Figs,  370 

Firearms,  108 

Fishing  —  cod,  112,  442;  general,  49, 
III-H2,  115;  Alaska,  408;  Canada, 
423;  Florida,  165;  halibut,  430; 
salmon,  388-390,  412,  430 

Flax,  105 

Florida,  160-171;  birds,  164;  climate, 
161-162;  fishing,  164-165;  fruits, 
166-171;  Keys,  161;  railways,  162 

Flour,  56,  238-239.    See  also  Wheat 

Forestry  Service,  54 

Forests,  54;  California,  372;  Canada, 
423,  431,  435;  Central  America,  471; 
Great  Lakes,  250-258;  kinds  of  trees, 
158,  251;  Mexico,  450;  National  for- 
ests of  U.  S.,  253;  New  England, 
in;  Pacific  Coast,  251,  383-385; 
southern  U.  S.,  126,  157-160,  164, 
189-190 

Fort  Gibbon,  416 

Fort  McHenry,  56 

Fort  McPherson,  154,  426 

Fort  Sumter,  155-156 

Fort  Worth,  317 

Fort  Yukon,  426 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  67 

Frasch  (frash),  Herman,  196 

Fraser  (fra'zer)  River,  431 

Freeport,  Texas,  195 

Fremont',  Ohio,  269 

Frijoles  (fre-ho'las),  462 

Fruit  raising,  55,  166-171,  273,  363,  369 

Fulton,  Robert,  79 

Furs  —  Alaska,  408;  Canada,  427-428; 
fox  farming,  442;  seals,  410 


Galveston  (gal'vgs-tun) ,  101,  193 

Garden  of  the  Gods,  324 

Gasoline,  206 

Gatun  (ga-toon'),  Dam  and  Lake,  484 

Geysers  (gl'serz),  331-332 

Glaciers  —  Alaska,    407-408;     Canada, 

431;   U.  S.,  329,  393 
Glass  making,  301-302 
Goethals  (go'thalz),  George  W.,  486 
Gold  —  Alaska,     408,     411;      Canada, 

418-422,  423,  432;    Central  America, 

469;  Mexico,  448;  quartz  mining,  336; 

refining    process,    340-341;     U.    S., 

335-341,  378 
Gorgas,  W.  C.,  485 
Government  Departments  of  U.  S.    — 

Agriculture,   24,  51-54;    Census,  49; 

Commerce,    49-50;     Education,    51; 

Engraving  and  Printing,  43;  Forestry, 

54;    Geological  Survey,  51;    Interior, 

26,  50-51;   Immigration,  87;   Justice, 

46;  Labor,  50;  Mines,  51;  Navy,  39-41; 

Patents,    51;     Pensions,      51;     Post 

Office,     46-49;     State,     26,     38-39; 

Treasury,     26,     41-46;      War,     41; 

Weather  Bureau,  53 
Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  442 
Grand  Canyon,  326,  363 
Granite,  112 

Grant,  General  U.  S.,  302 
Grapefruit,  168 
Graphite,  154,  281 
Great  Bear  Lake,  422 
Great  Lakes, 1 5,  18-19,  76, 106,  258-274, 

422;   basin  of,  259-260;   canals,  261; 

cities   on,    266;     commerce   of,    259, 

263-264;    head  of  navigation,  242 
Great  Salt  Lake,  193,  358 
Great  Slave  Lake,  423,  426 
Greensboro,  N.  C.,  147 
Guadalajara  (gwa-tfea-la-ha'ra),  464 
Guanajuato   (gwa-na-hwa'to) ,   448,   464 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  15,  171-172,  445 
Gulf  Stream,  445 
Guatemala  (gwa-ta-ma"la),  469, 471-476; 

city,  474 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  80 
Hampton  Roads,  55,  127 
Hannibal  (han'i-bal),  Mo.,  220 


5o6 


NORTH    AMERICA 


Harris,  Joel  Chandler,  154 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  306 

Hartford,  102,  105 

Hats,  62 

Haverhill  (ha'ver-H),  102 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel,  118 

Henequen  (h6n'€-k6n),  451 

Henry,  Patrick,  138 

Hibbing,  244 

Hogs,  52;  boys'  clubs,  231 

Holyoke  (hol'yok),  103 

Honduras  (h6n-d66'ras),  469,  476,  478 

Hood,  Mt.,  386 

Hoosac  (hoo'sak)  Mts.,  105 

Houston  (hus'tun),  193,  204 

Hudson  Bay,  15,  423,  427 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  426 

Hudson  River,  72,  75,  76,  79 

Huron,  Lake,  264 

Icebergs,  41,  443 

Immigration,  87-89 

Indian  River,  166 

Indianap'olis,  300-307 

Indians  —  Alaskan,  •  411-412;  Aztecs 
(az'tSks),  459-462,  476;  Bureau  of 
Indian  Affairs,.  51;  Canadian,  427; 
Central  American,  469;  Cherokees 
(chSr-6-kez'),  400;  Chickasaws 
chlk'a-soz),  400;  Choctaws  (chdk'toz) 
400;  cliff  dwellers,  326,  397;  Creeks, 
400;  dress  of,  398-400;  Hopi  (ho'pe), 
397;  Jamestown,  133;  Mayas(ma'yaz), 
476;  Montezuma,  460;  Navajo 
(nav'a-ho),  397-398;  schools  for,  127, 
398;  Seminoles  (sem'i-nolz) ,  161,  400; 
totem  (to'tem),  412;  in  United 
States,  397-403;  in  World  War,  398 

Inland  Empire,  395 

Iron  and  steel  —  deposits  of  iron  in 
U.  S.,  243;  history  of  iron,  243;  Lake 
Superior  iron  mines,  242-250;  steel 
manufacturing,  55,  63,  72,  154,  295- 
299,  300,  303,  311;  by-products,  299; 
unloading  ore  from  ships,  269-271 

Irrigation  —  Canada,  364;  Mexico,  364, 
446;  U.  S.,  357,  360-367,  396;  of  the 
world,  366 

Itasca  (I-tas'ka),  Lake,  211 

Ixtaccihuatl  (es-tak-se'hwat'l),  454 


Jackson,  Andrew,  161 
Jacksonville,  156,  162-164 
James  River,  127,  132,  137 
Jamestown,  127,  132-133 
Jefferson,  Mt.,  in,  386 
Jewelry,  103 
Jordan  River,  357 
Juneau  (joo'no),  405,  408 

Kansas  City,  317 

Katahdin  (ka-ta'dln),  Mt.,  in 

Katmai  (kat-ml'),  Mt.,  405,  410 

Keokuk  (ke'6-kuk),  220-223 

Keokuk  Canal,  222 

Kerosene,  206 

Ketchikan  (kSch-i-kan'),  407 

Keweenaw  (ke'we-no)  Peninsula,  219 

Key,  Francis  Scott,  56 

Key  West,  161,  162 

Kilauea  (ke-lou-a'a),  331 

Klamath  (klam'ath)  River,  329 

Klondike  River,  418 

Kodiak  (k6d-yakO,  409 

Koyukuk  (k6-yoo'kd6k)  River,  405 

Kuskokwim   (kus'ko-kwlm)  R.,  405,  411 

Labrador  (lab-ra-dorO,  15 

Lawrence,  Capt.  James,  8c 

Lawrence,  Mass.,  101 

Lead,  18,  448 

Lemons,  53,  168,  370,  446,  469 

1'Enfant,  Pierre  (pyarlaN-faN),  22 

Liberty  bell,  67 

Limon  (le-monO,  476 

Los  Angeles   (los  ang'gel-es),  369,  375, 

377 

Louisiana,  105,  189 

Louisiana  Purchase,  176,  409 

Louisville  (loo'Is-vil),  306 

Lowe  (16),  Mt.,  376 

Lowell,  Mass.,  101 

Lubricating  oil,  206-20; 

Lumber  —  Canada,  423;  export  of,  129, 
171,  190;  Great  Lakes,  252,  253-255; 
mahogany,  472;  Pacific  states,  252, 
255.  384-385,  393;  shipping  on 
Mississippi,  215;  southern  states,  158, 
252,  255;  uses  of,  252-253.  See  also 
Forests 

Lynn,  Mass.,  102,  106 


INDEX 


507 


Mackenzie  River,  16,  422,  426 

McKinley,  Mt.,  322,  4°9 

McKinley,  President,  305 

Madison,  Mt.,  in 

Maguey  (mag'wa),  453 

Mahogany,  105,  471-472 

Maine,  97,  in 

Mammoth  Cave,  306 

Managua  (ma-na'gwa) ,  478 

Manchester,  101 

Manitoba  (man-I-to'ba) ,  425 

Marble,  112 

Marshall  Pass,  352 

Massachusetts,  97,  99 

Mauna  Loa  (mou'nalo'a),  331 

Meat  packing,  105-106,  318;  by- 
products, 317;  Chicago,  314-318; 
Fort  Worth,  189.  See  also  Cattle 

Memphis  (mem'fls),  213 

Mendenhall  Glacier,  407 

Meriden  (mfir'I-den),  103 

Merrimac  (mer'i-mak)  River,  101 

Mesabi  (me-sa'be)  Mts.,  244 

Mestizos  (mes-te'zoz),  469 

Mexico,  445-467;  farming,  446-448; 
government,  456;  Indians,  448; 
minerals,  448;  population,  448;  rail- 
ways, 449 

Mexico  city,  454-462 

Michigan  (mishli-gan),  106,  249 

Milwau'kee,  266,  318-319 

Minneap'olis,  106,  238-242 

Mint,  U.  S.,  68-71 

Miraflores  (me-ra-flo'ras),  486 

Mississippi  River,  16,  18,  210-223;  delta, 
172-173;  head  of  navigation,  242; 
islands,  220;  jetties,  172;  length,  211; 
lev'ees,  174,  214-215;  steamers,  210, 
211 

Mississippi  valley,  18,  97,  210-242 

Missouri  (mi-soo'ri)  River,  18,  211,  220. 

Mobile  (mo-beT),  171 

Mohawk  valley,  75 

Molasses,  86,  184-185 

Money,  41-45 

Monongahela  (mo-n6ng-ga-he'la)  River, 
290 

Monterey  (mon-te-ra'),  464 

Montreal  (m6nt-re-61'),  437-438;  Mount 
Royal,  438 


Mormons,  357 
Moving  pictures,  376 
Muir  glacier,  408 

Nashua  (nash'u-a),  101 

National  Parks,  51,  326-335;  Columbia 
Gorge,  388;  Crater  Lake,  388;  Gen. 
Grant,  329;  Gen.  Lafayette,  329; 
Glacier,  326;  Lassen  Volcano,  329; 
Mesa  Verde  (ma'sa  ver'dS),  326; 
Mt.  McKinley,  329;  Mt.  Ranier 
(ra-ner'),  329;  Platt,  329;  Rocky 
Mountains,  329;  Sequoia  (sg-kwoi'a), 
329,  372;  Wind  Cave,  329;  Yellow- 
stone, 326,  33I-33S;  Yosemite 
(yo-s&n'i-te),  373~374 

Natural  bridges,  328 

Natural  gas,  200,  209 

Naval  stores,  156-157,  171 

Negroes,  127-129,  156 

New  Bedford,  101 

New  Brunswick,  425,  442 

New  England,  15,  95-125;  lakes,  in; 
manufacturing,  99-104;  rivers,  99; 
wealth,  97 

New  Orleans  (or'le-anz),  101,  173-179; 
markets,  177;  railways,  175;  wharves 
177 

New  York,  55,72-94;  American  Museum 
of  Natural  History,  92;  apartment 
houses,  73;  Bedloes  Island,  91; 
bridges,  92;  Broadway,  80,  81; 
Brooklyn  Bridge,  91;  boroughs,  75; 
Central  Park,  94;  churches,  94;  East 
River,  73,92;  elevated  railways,  82-83; 
Fifth  Avenue,  92;  Grant's  Tomb,  92; 
hotels,  81;  library,  92;  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art,  92;  police,  75; 
Riverside  Drive,  92;  Statue  of 
Liberty,  91;  Stock  Exchange,  80; 
stores,  82;  traffic,  75;  Trinity  Church, 
79;  underground  railways,  73,  82; 
theaters,  92-94;  Wall  Street,  80-81; 
Zoological  Garden,  94 

New  York  State  Barge  Canal,  76,  264, 
273 

Newark,  72 

Newfoundland  (nu'f  und-land) ,  15,  425, 
442 

Newport,  108 


5o8 


NORTH   AMERICA 


Newport  News,  129 

Niagara  (nl-ag'a-ra),  274-282;    bridges, 

277-278;    Cave  of  the  Winds,    277; 

Goat  Island,  275;   Grand  Island,  275; 

Maid  of  the  Mist,    277;    river,    274; 

waterpower,  278-282,  437 
Nicaragua  (mk-a-ra'gwa),  469,  476 
Nicaragua,  Lake,  478 
Nickel,  435 
Nome  (nom),  411 
Norfolk,  127-132 
Northwest  Territory,  426 
Nova  Scotia  (no'va  sko'shya),  425,  442 

Oakland,  381 

Oaxaca  (wa-ha'ka),  464 

Ocean  steamships,  56,  87,  115 

Ohio,  great  men  of,  305 

Ohio  River,  302 

Okefenokee  (6-ke-fe-no'ke)  Swamp,  158 

Old  Point  Comfort,  127 

Olives,  370 

Omaha  (o'ma-ho),  317,  323 

Ontario  (Sn-ta'ri-6),  425 

Ontario,  Lake  437 

Oranges,  53,  166^168,  370,  446,  469 

Oregon,  382 

Orizaba  (6-re-sa'ba),  451 

Ostriches,  363,  376 

Ottawa  (6t'a-wa),  436 

Ottawa  River,  436-437 

Owens  River,  376 

Oysters,  58-61,  129 

Pacific  Northwest,  382-396 

Pacific  States,  369 

Panama  —  republic,     15,    479;     Canal, 

481-489;    city,  479 
Pan-American  Union,  39 
Paper,  103 
Paraffin,  207 

Passaic  (pa-sa'ik)  River,  72 
Patapsco  (pa-taps'ko)  River,  55 
Pat'erson,  72 
Pathfinder  Dam,  364 
Pawtuck'et,  101 
Peanuts,  130-132 

Pedro  Miguel  (pa'dro  me-geT),  486-487  ' 
Penn,  William,  65,  67 


Petroleum  —  Alaska,  204;  California, 
377;  exports,  86;  Mexico,  464-466; 
pipe  lines,  205-206;  products,  206-207, 
refining,  63,  208-210;  U.  S.  51,  126; 
199-210;  world  production,  203 

Philadelphia,  21,  61-72 

Phosphates,  154,  161 

Pikes  Peak,  324 

Pilgrims,  122-123 

Pineapples,  56,  168,  446,  450-451,    469 

Pittsburgh,  292-302     ' 

Plymouth  Rock,  122-123 

Pocahon'tas,  133 

Poe,  Edgar  Allan,  56 

Point  Barrow,  405,  411 

Ponce  de  Leon  (pon'tha  da  la-onO,  160 

Pon'chartrain,  Lake,  174 

Popocatepetl  (po-po'ka-ta'peVl),  454, 
462-464 

Porcupine  River,  405,  426 

Port  Arhur,  204,  433,  438 

Portland,  Maine,  105 

Portland,  Oregon,  386-388 

Poto'mac  River,  20,  24,  26 

Pottery,  72,  302 

Poultry  clubs,  53,  231 

Prairie  dogs,  353~355 

Pribilof  (pre-be-16f)  Islands,  410 

Prince  Edward  Island,  425,  442 

Prince  Rupert,  430 

Prince  William  Sound,  408 

Princeton,  72 

Providence,  R.  I.,  101,  103,  105,  108 

Prunes,  370 

Public  lands  of  U.  S.,  51 

Pueblo  (pweb'lo),  351 

Puerto  Barrios  (pweVto  bar-re'os),  476 

Puerto  Mexico,  467 

Puget  (pu'jet)  Sound,  367,  390-393 

Quakers,  65 
Quarries,  112 
Quebec',  425,  440-442 
Quirigua  (ke-re'gwa),  476 

Railways  —  Alaska,  408;  Canada,  427, 
431,  437;  Central  America,  467-469; 
Mexico,  449;  U.  S.,  19,  21,  55,  63-65, 
72.  73,  75,  94,  109,  117,  154,  162,  175, 
210,  216,  266,  350-355,  378,  391 


INDEX 


509 


Ranier  (ra-nerO,  Mt,  329,  386,  393 

Reclamation,  51,  158-159,  359-367 

Red  River  valley,  233 

Regina  (re-jl'na),  433 

Reindeer,  51,  414 

Revere,  Paul,  121-122 

Rhode  Island,  97 

Rice,  185-188 

Richmond,  137-138 

Rideau  (re-do')  River,  436 

Riley,  James  Whitcomb,  306-307 

Rio  Grande  (re'6  gran 'da),  364 

Rochester,  273 

Rocky  Mountains,  323,  431-432 

Roosevelt  Dam,  363 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  31 

Rose  festivals,  375,  386 

Rosin,  156 

Ross,  Betsy,  67 

Rubber,  72,  303-305,  472 

St.  Anthony,  Falls  of,  211,  223,  240 

St.  Au'gustine,  160 

St.  Eli'as,  Mt.,  408 

St.  Helens,  Mt.,  386 

St.  Johns  River,  162-163 

St.  Joseph,  317 

St.  Lawrence  River,  15,  16,  19,  422,  438 

St.  Louis,  216-220,  317 

St.  Marys  River,  2(3 

St.  Paul,  230-240,  317 

Salina  Cruz  (sa-le'na  kroos),  467 

Salt,  106;  Louisiana  and  Texas,  190-193; 

Poland,  193;   Utah,  193,  358-3S9 
Salt  Lake  City,  322,  355-350 
Salt  River,  363 

Salvador  (sal-va-dor'),  469,  479 
San  Francis'co,  378-381 
San  Jose  (san  ho-sa'),  478 
San  Louis  Potosi  (san  loo-es'  po-tS-se'), 

464 

San  Salvador,  479 
Sandy  Hook,  488 
Santiago  (san-te-a'go),  488 
Saskatchewan  (sas-kach'e-w5n),  id,  425 
Savannah,  156 

Schuylkill  (skool'lul),  River,  65,  71 
Scranton,  283 
Seattle  (se-at"l),  390-393 
Seward  (su'ard),  409 


Shasta  (shas'ta),  Mt.,  328,  382 

Sheep,  52,  53,  353 

Shipbuilding,  55,  62-63,  105,  129 

Shoes  and  leather,  62,  63,  102,  106-108, 
117 

Shoshone  (sho-sho'nS),  Dam,  363 

Sierra  Nevada  (sl-er'ane-va'da),  369 

Silk,  62,  72 

Silver,  18,  68,  103;  Canada,  423,  432; 
Central  America,  469;  Cceur  d'Alene 
(kur  da-Ian')  mine,  341;  Comstock 
lode,  34;  Mexico,  448;  refining  proc- 
ess, 344-345;  Veta  Madre  (va'ta 
ma'dra)  lode,  458;  in  U.  S.,  341-346 

Sisal  (se-sal'),  441 

Sitka,  408 

Skagway,  426 

Slate,  113 

Smith,  Capt.  John,  97,  127,  132 

Snoqual'mie  Falls,  395 

Sombrero  (sSm-bra'ro),  458 

Soo  Canal,  263,  433 

Southern  States,  126-220 

Spartanburg,  S.  C.,  147 

Spokane  (spo-kanO,  396 

Sponges,  162 

Springfield,  Mass,  108 

Standish,  Miles,  123 

"Star-Spangled  Banner,"  56 

Sudbury,  435 

Sugar,  cane,  56,  63,  105,  179-185,  446; 
beet,  357;  maple,  113-114 

Sulphur,  190,  195-199,  463-464 

Superior,  Lake,  105,  242-243,  261 

Supreme  Court  of  U.  S.  36-38 

Susquehanna  (sus-kwe-han'a)  River,  61 

Swamps,  158-160,  168,  174 

Tacoma  (ta-ko'ma)  393-395 
Tahoe  (ta'ho),  Lake,  328 
Taku  (ta'koo)  Glacier,  407 
Tamale  (ta-ma'le),  459 
Tampa,  171 

Tampico  (tam-pe'ko),  464 
Tanana  (ta-na-na')  River,  405,  416 
Tanning,  106-107 
Taylor,  Zachary,  306 
Tegucigalpa,  ta-goo-se-gal'pa),  478 
Tehuan tepee  (ta-wan-ta-pfikO,  467 
Texas,  139,  189 


NORTH   AMERICA 


Tin,  301 

Tobacco,  56,  126,  133-137,  162,  306 

Tole'do,  266,  269 

Toron'to,  437 

Tortilla  (t&r-tel'ya) ,  461 

Totem  poles,  412 

Toy  manufacturing,  103 

Trenton,  72 

Tulsa  (tul'sa),  204 

Tundras,  427 

Turpentine,  156-157 

Twain,  Mark,  214,  220 

United  States,  17-403 

Universities  and  Colleges  —  Girard 
College,  71;  Harvard,  118;  John 
Hopkins,  58;  Stanford,  381;  Uni- 
versity of  California,  381;  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  71;  William  and 
Mary  College,  129;  Yale,  118-120 

Vanadium  (va-na'dl-um),  301 

Vancouver  (vSn-koo'ver),  431 

Vanilla  beans,  446,  450 

Vaseline,  207 

Vera  Cruz  (va'rii  kroosO,  445,  449-450 

Vicksburg,  213 

Victoria,  431 

Vineyards,  370 

Volcanoes  —  Alaska,  405,  410;  Central 

America,    472,    474;     Hawaii,    331; 

Mexico,  462;  United  States,  386 

Walruses,  41 

Wars  —  Civil  War,  129,  130,  154,  155; 
War  of  1812,  26,  29,  176,  271;  Revo- 
lutionary War,  21,  120,  130;  World 
War,  102 

Wasatch  (wd'sach)  Mts.,  355 

Washington,  D.  C.,  20-54;  Capitol,  21 
22,  23,  26,  33-38;  Corcoran  Gallery 
of  Arts,  39;  House  of  Representatives, 
34-36;  Library  of  Congress,  23; 
Lincoln  Memorial,  26;  National 
Museum,  24;  Navy  Yard,  24;  Penn- 
sylvania Avenue,  22,  33;  Washington 
Monument,  24;  Senate,  36;  White 
House,  21,  23,  24,  26,  28-33 

Washington,  George,  29,  6r,  68,  72, 102, 
120 


Washington,  Mt.,  109 

Watch  manufacturing,  103-104 

Water  power  —  Appalachian  Mts.  18, 
126;  Canada,  436;  James  River,  137; 
Ke'okuk,  220;  New  England,  99,  112; 
Niagara,  281,  437;  Pacific  North- 
west, 386,  395,  396;  St.  Anthony,  211, 
223;  Salt  Lake  City,  357;  Southern 
States,  154-155;  U.  S.  general,  51 

Waterbury,  103 

\7elland  Canal,  272,  437,  438 

West  Indies,  105 

Western  highland,  16,  18,  321-325 

Whales,  411,  426 

Wheat  —  Canada,  433;  elevators,  237- 
238;  exports,  56,  85-86,  173;  his- 
tory, 233;  Pacific  states,  369,  396; 
Mexico,  446;  Southern  states,  189; 
threshing,  235-236;  U.  S.  general,  52; 
varieties,  236;  world  product,  232 

White  House,  42*6 

White  Mts.,  109 

White,  Peregrine,  123 

Whitney,  Eli,  145 

Whitney,  Mt.,  369 

Wild  animals,  18,  21;  Alaska,  405; 
Canada,  427,  430;  Florida,  168; 
National  Parks,  329;  Western 
highland,  355 

Willamette  (wl-lam'e't)  River,  386 

Williamsburg,  129 

Wilmington,  61 

Win'chenden,  103 

Windsor,  269 

Win'nipeg,  432 

Winnipeg,  Lake,  423 

WTool,  62,  102,  115 

Yellowstone  Canyon,  332 

York  town,  130 

Yosemite  (yo-s5m'I-te),  Falls,  374 

Yosemite  Valley,  329 

Youngstown,  302 

Yucatan  (yoo-ka-tan'),  445 

Yukon   (yoo'kon)   River,  405,  411,  416 

426 
Yukon  Territory,  426 

Zacatecas  (sa-ka-ta'kas),  464 
Zinc,  51,  154 


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